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BOSTON, 
C. H.PEIRCE . 



THE 



PATH OF LIFE: 



OR 



SKETCHES 



THE WAY TO GLORY AND IMMORTALITY. 



Help for Yonng Christians. 



BY REV. DANIEL WISE. 
Author of " Lovest thou Me," " Christian Love," &c. 

BOSTON: 
CHARLES H. PEIRCE. 

1848. 




S W53 



<ESS / 
SHINGTON J 



Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1847, by 
CHARLES H. PEIRCE, in the Clerk's Office of the District 
Court of the District of Massachusetts. 



Stereotyped and Printed 

By George C. Rand and Company, 

No. 3 Cornhill, Boston. 



INSCRIPTION. 

To all Believers in our Lord Jesus Christ ; and 
especially to all young converts, babes in christ, 
and Young Christians, this work is most affection- 
ately Inscribed, by their unworthy brother in 

Christ, 

DANIEL WISE. 



PREFACE. 



The following pages are designed for the especial benefit of 
young pilgrims in the way of life. In their first journeyings they 
meet with many difficulties. Now, a fog obscures- the path ; here, 
a net is spread ; there, a pit is dug ; elsewhere seductive syrens 
sing the bewitching songs of error ; and in other places tempting 
arbors invite them to slumber in shady bowers. Dangers lie all 
along the path. To explain these dangers, to warn the young pil- 
grim, to excite his fears, to animate his hopes, are the aims of 
this book. These things, we know, have been often done by 
others. Pike, Abbott, Merritt, Hodge, and others, well known to 
fame, have written most ably for the young. But there is a demand 
for variety, and it is hoped that this volume may perform some little 
service for Christ, not accomplished by these admired authors. 
There are several experimental difficulties common to young Chris- 
tians removed out of the way in this work, which it is believed have 
not been noticed by previous writers for young disciples. 



VI PREFACE. 

We have aimed to write so as to profit the reader. Yet, we have 
not shunned the pleasing illustration, thereby to allure to the more 
solemn truth. We have endeavored in this respect to occupy a mid- 
dle ground between the profuse illustrativeness of Abbott and the 
rigid simplicity of Pike and Merritt. Profound theological reason- 
ing need not be sought in this little volume, for we have not attempt- 
ed to write a body of divinity; yet, there is enough of saving truth 
explained, to make simple the path of life to every sincere inquir- 
er. We have offered many prayers over these pages, and now send 
them forth to the world, not without hope that the Head of the 
Church will use them to help His latest born disciples in their doubt- 
ful way to His eternal kingdom. d. w. 



CONTENTS, 



CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

Religion a Solemn Subject. — The royal pageant. The 
mechanic. The elevation to courtly honor. The change. 
Desire for human greatness. The extent of youthful pros- 
pects. A relation to royalty possible to all. Great conde- 
scension. The despisers of religion. Dignity of the child 
of God. Happiness of the Christian. Christian Lazarus. 
Sinful Caesar. Worth of Christianity. The sleeper's 
danger. Importance of being saved. A sinner in God's 
presence. - ------ 9 

CHAPTER II. 

Repentance. — The great question. The two extremes. 
Scylla and Charybdis. The first lesson in the gospel. Re- 
pentance. Deception possible. Two species of penitence. 
A caution. An idle boy. Discontent. The clandes- 
tine journey. Thoughtless joy. Distress. Reflection. 
The return. The restoration. A question. Helen and her 
mother. The promise. The happy party. A proposal. 
The strawberry meadow. Temptation. Indecision. The 
transgression. The return home. The hour of prayer. 
Helen's distress. The confession. Helen's penitence com- 



Vlll CONTENTS. 



PAGE 



pared with that of the idle boy. A plain distinction A 
question to be answered. The sick youth. His fears. 
The great change. The awful relapse. Worldly sorrow. 
Evidence of godly sorrow in the Corinthians. - - 19 

CHAPTER III. 

Difficulties in the way of Penitents. — The excited 
penitent. The calm seeker. A common doubt. A solu- 
tion of a common difficulty. Scriptural examples. The 
Phillippian Jailer. The publican. Lydia. Reason why 
these examples are given. Another difficulty. The dura- 
tion of Penitence. An easy rule. When a penitent may 
believe. The first converts to Christ. Repentance no proof 
of Christian character. Is a preparatory state. Repen- 
tance compared with conversion. ----- 35 

CHAPTER IV. 

Saving Faith Explained. — The Jews and fiery ser- 
pents. The wonderful cure. The uplifted serpent selected 
by Christ to illustrate the nature of faith. Saving faith de- 
scribed. Two elements of faith. Confidence and expecta- 
tion. Such faith absolutely required. A doubt stated. A 
key for its easy solution. The blind lady. Her cure. 
Struck blind again by lightning. Temporary faith. Con- 
fidence cast away. Experience of a young man. Faith is 
a succession of acts. The sailor resting on the life-buoy. 
Scriptural proofs. Necessity of present faith. A scene on 
the ocean. Different degrees of faith. A foolish and fatal 
error. Exhortation. -------47 

CHAPTER V. 

The Operations of Faith Illustrated. — Abraham's 
emigration. A sublime instance of faith. The believer's 
privilege. Scriptural foundation for unlimited faith. Effect 
of affliction on weak faith. The naval officer and his son. 



CONTENTS. IX 

PAGE 

God's children not discoverable by visible favors. Joseph. 
David. Daniel. Job. Jeremiah Stephen. Paul. 
John. The reason of the afflictions of the righteous. The 
work of faith. The boy in a storm. Language of faith. 
Future will explain the present. The widow. The orphan. 
The merchant. Necessity of special faith. The obedient 
son. The apostolic exhortation. Paul's thorn in the flesh. 
Especial faith overcomes particular sins. A complaint. 
Stella and the cameo brooch. Presumption. Important 
operation of faith. Elisha's faith. Stephen the martyr. 
Effects of realizing eternity. Need of effort. Influence of 
former habit. Faith must be stimulated by meditation. - 64 

CHAPTER VI. 

The Witness of the Spirit. — A solemn question. An im- 
aginary picture. The exiled prince. A father's love. The 
letter. Penitence. Anxiety. A fair presumption. The 
Bible not the only witness of acceptance. The Holy Spirit's 
testimony. The message to the prince. His joy. God has 
provided a Divine Witness. Witness of the Spirit explained. 
Manner of the Spirit's operation a mystery. A question. 
Extract. A caution. Degrees of Spiritual manifestion va- 
rious. Extract. An entreaty. Deception possible but un- 
necessary. The man under sentence of death. His pardon 
arrives. A great change. A second witness. Fruits of the 
Spirit. Conciousness of a change. An important sentence. 
The orphan boy. A benefactor. Adoption. Adoption for- 
feited. Wilful sin excludes the Witness of the Spirit. The 
motions of sin are felt in true Christians. They are con- 
querors through faith. An exhortation to the convert. - 83 

CHAPTER VII. 

Temptation. — The world a vale of tears. Poetic extract. 
Temptation. The clerk and the new watch. A family scene. 
The trial. The reward. A tempter. The plot. Fascina- 
tion. The concert. The happy escape. Two kinds of trial. 



X CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

God tries our faith. Abraham. The agents of temptation. 
Satan's devices. Indirect temptations described. Power of 
indirect temptations. Eve. Esau. Ahab. Gehazi. Pe- 
ter. Other tempters. A fear. The convert's safety. Prom- 
ised help. Luther and his enemies. The Subterranean cav- 
ern. No temptation peculiar. The child and the lion. 
Conditions of safety. A word of exhortation. - 104 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Joining the Church. — A lovely scene. Unwillingness to 
join the church. The pilgrims. The deadly climate. The 
wilderness. The pilgrims on their journey. The lonely pil- 
grims. Their destruction. Most all who do not join the 
church backslide. Why converts do not join the church. 
The church of divine origin. Humane houses. Appeal to 
the young Christian. The honorable character of the church. 
To delay joining the church, dangerous. The lamb. A church 
relation should be highly valued. The Mississippi and its 
springs. A resolution to die in the church recommended. 
The convert should love the church. He should help meet 
her expenses. What church should the convert join. The 
motive should be pure. ------- 123 

CHAPTER IX. 

On the Formation of Religious Habits. — Power of 

habits. The young lady and her music. Habits important. 
Philip. Peter. Cause of the difference between them. A 
secret, closet devotion should be habitual. Prayer must be 
earnest, sincere, scriptural. Elizabeth and the Earl of Es- 
sex. Seven ways by which prayer is made unsuccessful. 
The tailor tempted. Habit of family prayer. Castle of In- 
dolence. Evil of mental dreaminess. A Sabbath scene. 
The missed hearers. Habit of attendance on public worship. 
Irregular hearers always spiritually poor. Poetical extract. 
Habit of reading and study. The spider and his victim. 
Quotation from Pollock. ------ 139 



CONTENTS. XI 

CHAPTER X. 

F&GE 

Evil Company. — The prudent mariner. Fatal neglect to 
take warning. Good counsel. What is evil company. Re- 
latives not to be forsaken. A sketch. Madeleine. Her first 
love. The invitation. The party. The rebuke. Worldly 
spirit in the ascendant. Condemnation. Repentance. 
More temptation. Madeleine a backslider. Beautiful extract. 
Fatal effect of worldly friendship. Subject important. The 
jailer. The soldier. Divine teachings. Dr. Chalmers, on 
evil companions. How to act with irreligious relatives. The 
diving spider. Choosing friends. Right action urged. 
Lot. Samson. Solomon. Rehoboam. - 161 

CHAPTER XI. 

Marriage. — One mistake fruitful of evils. Eli. Napoleon. 
The ill assorted marriage. Louise. Her piety. The un- 
converted suitor. The struggle. The wedding. The apos- 
tasy. Lucy. Her modest piety. The rejected suitor. 
The happy marriage. An appeal. The subject serious. 
William Jay. The two mariners. The lost ship. Scrip- 
tural argument. Agreement of spirit necessary. Old Testa- 
ment prohibition. Effect of unscriptural marriages on the 
children. New Testament sentiments. Appeal to the Chris- 
tian. 177 

CHAPTER XIL 

Decision of Character. — Notable examples. Fabricius. 
Milton's Abdiel. Joshua. Elijah. Daniel. Paul. Firm- 
ness a leading element of Christian character. Sir Thomas 
Abney at the Lord Mayor's feast. A sketch. Frank Ed- 
wards. His conversion. Sweet experience. A trial. 
Decision. Severe trouble. Poverty. Emigration for con- 
science sake. Prosperity. A new test. Frank's firmness. 
The reward. Decision of character admirable. The rock 
in a storm. Christ's freemen. Decision the convert's priv- 
ilege. Caution. The broken buckle. - 193 



Xll CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

PAGE 

Holiness. — The pure in heart described. Their song. The 
modern Indian. Resemblances. A sorrowful experience. 
Poetic extract. Causes of low experiences. Solemn ques- 
tions. Holiness sweet to its possessors. Why are not all 
Christians holy. Mistaken effort. Young Joseph's experi- 
ence. His struggles with particular sins. His want of 
success. The morass. The hidden spring. Joseph's error. 
Holiness of heart the source of holy character. The two 
travellers in Lapland. How to attain a holy heart. Conse- 
cration. Faith. The Jewish worshiper. Exhortation. - 210 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Apostasy. — The two beggars. Special sympathy. Bitter 
remembrances of apostates. Javan's soliloquy. A backsli- 
der's misery. Ruinous influence of the apostate. The epi- 
demic. An infirmary. Cures wrought. Popularity of the 
infirmary. Relapses. Two important points. Power of 
Clu'istian profession. The apostate neutralizes the influence 
of the truly faithful. He is an object of astonishment. Apos- 
tasy a possibility. Satan. Adam. Demas. Paul's fear. 
His caution to Timothy. Apostasy unnecessary. How to 
avoid it. Present assurance must be maintained. Relation 
of practical duty to experimental enjoyment explained. 
Every point must be guarded. The Roman capitol and the 
Gauls. An evil illustrated. The case of Robert. Advice. 
Conclusion. 227 



CHAPTER I. 



RELIGION A SOLEMN SUBJECT. 

ISPlSi^ ILL the reader permit himself to be 
transported to some European city ? 

A royal cavalcade is passing there, with all its 
wonted pomp and circumstance. . Beautiful banners 
and silken pennons are floating in the air ; plumes 
are nodding and waving to and fro upon many a mar- 
tial head ; drums are rolling and trumpets flourish- 
ing ; while the wide welkin rings with the shouts of 
a pleased and applauding multitude. 

Amidst the ten thousand people, who gaze upon 
this showy pageant, stands a youth unknown as yet, 



10 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

to the great world — a simple-minded, unambitious 
lad, whose highest hope is to succeed well in the 
craft by which he earns his bread. As the royal per- 
sonage passes this youth, he singles him out from 
among his companions, and an officer is sent to con- 
duct him to the kingly carriage. There he sits, side 
by side with royalty. He is conducted to the palace. 
Place and title are given him. He becomes, at once, 
the friend and protege of the king. 

It will not be at all difficult for the reader to sup- 
pose, that, henceforth, this youth will think more 
highly of himself than he did before. Others, too, 
will think him greater, and pay him a respect such 
as they never paid him while he was a simple me- 
chanic. 

Why would this change take place in the feelings 
of the youth and his friends ? Really, he is no great- 
er than when he stood gazing at the gay pageant in 
the street. He is of no more worth, physically, in- 
tellectually or morally. Why, then, is he greater in 
his own estimation ? — In the opinion of society ? 

The reason is plain. His relations to the social 



RELIGION A SOLEMN SUBJECT. 11 

body are changed. Before his exaltation, he was 
merely an artizan : one of the brotherhood of labor ; 
now he is connected with the chief magistrate, the 
sovereign of the realm. It is from that connection, 
he derives his new-born greatness. 

Such a relation to some human potentate, would 
swell the heart of almost any man — it would thrill 
the soul of the reader. Were it practicable ; he 
would seek it with indescribable earnestness. Had 
he attained it, he would maintain it by the most dili- 
gent and unsparing exertions. 

But this relation to earthly majesty is impossible to 
the young reader. He may not derive honor and 
dignity from intimate connections with royalty. His 
largest rational hope is a little wealth ; a small share 
of political distinction, and a few civic honors from 
his townsmen. This is the utmost boundary — the 
ultima Thule — of the earthly prospects of all, who 
will read these pages. 

May I not hope, then, to secure both the atten- 
tion and heart of the reader, when I inform him 
that a connection with one royal potentate is possible 



12 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

to the humblest, the most unknown ' little one ' in this 
teeming world ? With the King of Kings — the 
Everlasting Jehovah — the most intimate relations 
are possible to the meanest man who walks the 
earth ! Strangely wonderful ; but infinitely true is 
the fact, that the vilest sinner of human kind may de- 
rive dignity, honor, and glory, from the Holy Father 
of all things. Nay, more, he may become his child: 
may enjoy the riches, the affection, the care, the 
communion, the grandeur which belongs to a filial 
relation ! 

God of Glory, is this possible ? May I ? May the 
reader be really and truly related to thee as thy 
child ? Stupendous thought ! Unheard-of conde- 
scension ! Most wonderful love ! Sinners, worms, 
creatures, may be allied to the Lord God Omnipo- 
tent ! Yea, many have been so united to him ; for, 
to as many as received the Lord Jesus by faith " to 

THEM GAVE HE POWER TO BECOME THE SONS OF GOD 
EVEN TO THEM THAT BELIEVE ON HIS NAME." 

With this glorious connection open to all who may 
choose to form it, what shall we say of those who 



RELIGION A SOLEMN SUBJECT. 13 

despise it ? Of those, who have stoutly refused to 
accept it, or having accepted it, have cast its honors 
and dignities away as unworthy trifles ? O, is it not 
a sad and melancholy infatuation to turn with only 
unspoken contempt from the most enduring and ex- 
alting honors in the universe ? For the sake of for- 
bidden pleasures, whose raptures die away in a mo- 
ment, and leave an undying worm behind, they 
neglect and despise the friendship of God ! Spurning 
the substance ; they choose the shadow ! Loathing 
the Eternal ; they love the momentary and perish- 
ing ! Despising the lovely and beautiful ; they court 
the hideous and horrible. In a word, they scorn the 
Creator and adore the creature. Most hopeless 
and ruinous contempt ! Persisted in a little while — 
and O, how brief that time will be — the long insulted 
Jehovah will tear them from their chosen objects of 
delight, and cast them down to depths of unfathomed 
woe. 

Happy then is that youth, who has sought the honor 
of being a Christian. In rising from the condition of 
a guilty sinner, he has already soared far above the 



14 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

envied lot of nobles and monarchs. A Christian is 
greater than a king. He is more honorable, more 
elevated, more happy. His honors are real : those 
of princes are imaginary ; his elevation is eternal, 
that of thrones temporary — his happiness is genuine 
and satisfactory, while that of kings is fancied and 
unsatisfactory. Considered in any and every as- 
pect : 

" A Christian is the highest style of Man." 
" Beloved now are we the Sons of God." Can 
any human dignity equal this ? Nay ! for it sur- 
passes immeasurably the proudest dignities of earth. 
To be " Heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus 
Christ" is to have unsearchable riches, which laugh 
to scorn the tiny coffers of kings, and shame the 
wealth of the whole material universe. To have 
" fellowship with the Father and his Son Jesus 
Christ" is to enjoy a degree and quality of bliss un- 
dreamed of in the wildest reveries of the most san- 
guine sinner — it is "joy unspeakable and full of 
glory" To believe, undoubtingly , that in our 
" Fathers house are many mansions ; " that when 



RELIGION A SOLEMN SUBJECT. 15 

66 Christ shall appear we shall he like him even as he 
is" that we shall stand as " kings and priests unto 
God " before the throne, and sing " the song of Moses 
and the Lamb for ever" — that we shall dwell 
" where the wicked cease from troubling and the 
weary are at rest ; " and that once in that un- 
described and undescribable world of glory, we 
" shall go no more out for ever ; " is to have an enjoy- 
ment, so ravishing, and a hope so resplendently glo- 
rious that the combined anticipations of every un- 
renewed mind sink into utter nothingness, when 
compared with the prospects of one such humble fol- 
lower of Christ. And more than this, to be the temples 
of the indwelling God now — to have these " vile 
bodies " honored as the abodes of the Holy Spirit and 
our once defiled natures washed, and transformed 
into the image of Jesus Christ ! To have the Holy 
One look with pleasure upon his image reflected upon 
our souls, this — this is dignity indeed — it is eleva- 
tion and honor beyond the conception of unrenewed 
sinners ! 

Yet these are the dignities, honors, prospects and 



16 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

joys of the Christian ! Invested with this high char- 
acter, Lazarus, ragged, beggared, spotted with dis- 
ease, is really greater and happier than imperial 
Caesar. Beneath that forbidding exterior, he con- 
ceals a princely dignity, which will shine as the sun 
in the day that will witness the everlasting downfall 
of the proudest sinners. 

What, then, is more important than to know our- 
selves Christians ? Food, clothing, station, wealth, 
friendships, have their value. But Christianity is 
worth far more than all these put together. Could 
it be purchased, it would be cheaply bought, at the 
sacrifice of every thing in your possession, not ex- 
cepting life itself. For without it, man is in moment- 
ary peril of perishing everlastingly. 

Can you imagine a man sleeping on the brink of 
some lofty height ? A gulf of many fathoms deep 
yawns below. In his slumber, he starts fitfully, as 
if disturbed by horrific dreams ; every motion brings 
him nearer to the crumbling edge. Another start, a 
slight crumbling of the earth, and he is gone — 
dashed to pieces on the craggy rocks beneath ! 



RELIGION A SOLEMN SUBJECT. 17 

Does your heart sicken at the conception of that 
sleeper's danger ? It should sicken more at the idea 
of not being a Christian. The peril is greater. The 
ruin more terrible. For while an unchristian man is 
gliding with irresistible rapidity towards the myste- 
rious future, " Hell is moving from beneath to 

MEET HIM AT HIS COMING ! " 

See, then, young immortal, the unmeasured im- 
portance of being a Christian. Neglect it ; you can 
never know a moment of real happiness, here or 
hereafter. Seek it ; and you secure true enjoyment 
in both worlds. Neglect it, and how will you meet 
your Creator ? Meet him you must, for the river 
can as soon roll its floods backward as you can stop 
your unerring destination to the bar of God. How 
can your spirit stand unclothed at his judgment seat 
without the friendship of Jesus Christ ? How terrible 
the thought of standing alone amid the infinities 
of the universe, to be confronted by the Being you 
have rejected ! There, from amidst clouds and dark- 
ness, His eyes, brighter than the lightning's flash, 
2 



18 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

shall dart consuming flame through your shivering 
spirit ! His word shall send you, thrilling, with the 
anguish of remorse, to the abodes of eternal sadness ! 
But if you are a Christian, death will be no terror 
and the future will be blessed. 



CHAPTER II. 



REPENTANCE, 



&Sp^3|! ILL you not therefore seriously study 
this great question ; " Am I a Christ- 
ian ? " 

Among those who throng the altars of the church 
are two parties, who rush into two opposite and 
equally dangerous extremes. The one party con- 
tend that it is very hard, if not impossible, to certain- 
ly know yourself a Christian ; the other as zealously 
affirm it to be one of the easiest things imaginable, 

To a young Christian, these opposite opinions are 

as dangerous, as the much dreaded Scylla and 

Charybdis were to the ancient and timid navigator in 

19 



20 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

the waters of Sicily. If he is led by the first of 
these parties, he may perish in a whirlpool of doubt 
and unbelief ; if by the second he may be dashed to 
pieces on the rocks of hypocrisy and carnal security. 
The truth lies between them. A man may be as 
certainly conscious that he is a Christian as he is of 
his own existence ; for says the Apostle, " we know 
we have passed from death unto life ; " while to re- 
tain that consciousness, is a task requiring great self- 
denial and severe heart-discipline. 

Supposing that my young reader desires to navi- 
gate these dangerous waters in safety, to avoid all ex- 
tremes, and to settle on bible principles the great 
question of his personal Christianity, I propose to of- 
fer him the great scriptural marks by which alone 
it must be decided. 

The first lesson enounced by the great Teacher to 
a fallen world was that of Repentance. " Repent ye" 
was the voice uttered by the forerunner of Christ : 
by Christ himself : and by his apostles. If then you 
are a Christian, You have repented of sin. 

Repentance is so simple a thing, a matter so easily 



REPENTANCE. 21 

comprehended, one would think it impossible to make 
a mistake, or to suppose ourselves penitent when we 
are not. Yet such a mistake is possible. Men may 
think they have repented of sin, when they have nev- 
er known true penitential feeling. Paul recognizes 
this possibility in his letter to the Corinthians. He 
says, u Godly sorrow workeih repentance to salvation, 
not to be repented of : but the sorrow of the world 
worketh death." 

Here are unquestionably two species of sorrow, 
both of which the Corinthians might have consider- 
ed religious : the one he calls u Godly sorrow ; " the 
other " sorrow of the world." And so diverse are 
they in their character, that while the former needed 

not to be regretted or repented of, because it led to 

reformation and eternal life ; the latter only led to 

eternal death. 

Does this sentiment cast a shadow on your young 

heart ? Does it discourage you and raise the question ; 

" Perhaps I too am deceived ? " If so, refrain from 

your misgivings ; remember that while deception is 

possible it is not necessary. 



22 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

I will now present you with illustrations of true 
and false repentance, by which you will readily per- 
ceive the wide difference that exists between them, 
and also understand precisely the nature of that pen- 
itence, which is the primary lesson in the school of 
Jesus Christ. 

There was once a lad of my acquaintance, who 
had grown discontented. The just and wholesome res- 
traints of his father's house were irksome to him. His 
proud heart magnified the wise discipline of home in- 
to tyranny. His temper grew sour. He became the 
evil genius of his paternal home. 

Miserable himself, he spread an evil influence 
around him. The faces of his parents wore a sad- 
dened aspect. They expostulated with the wayward 
boy. He considered these judicious pleadings harsh ; 
in a moment of excitement he resolved to quit his 
home forever. 

Prompted by ungovernable passions, he started 
stealthily away by night. Borne by swift convey- 
ances, he soon reached a distant city. Madly joyous 
were his first wild outbreaks of feeling, when he felt 



REPENTANCE. 23 

himself free. No will above his own to control him. 
O ! he fancied himself the happiest of youth. 

A few days spent in pleasure exhausted his scanty 
purse. He sought employment. His pride had of- 
ten whispered that he had only to offer himself, to be 
eagerly employed by men of his craft. Now, he 
put his hope to the test, and called at various stores 
with the question — " Do you wish to hire any one in 
your business ? " 

He met only a cold, unfeeling gaze, and an equal- 
ly cold " We do not." 

On he went from store to store, from street to 
street, and still the chilling, " We do not," fell upon 
his ears. 

Thus he spent several days. His money gone, his 
spare wardrobe sold for bread, and still no employ- 
ment. Hunger, grim and terrible of countenance, 
stared him in the face. Poverty compelled him to 
sleep in an empty cart that stood in a back street. 
Poor, proud boy ! how sadly his sins used him. 

In this extremity he reasoned with himself: " Fool 
that I am to stay here and starve. Father has plenty 



24 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

at home, and his fireside is warm. The old gentle- 
man is pretty good hearted after all. I '11 go back ; 
if I do not I shall starve. If I could stay here, I 
would ; but I can 't. So I '11 go home and tell my 
father I 'm sorry, and so get rid of my trouble." 

He returns home. With downcast eyes, he ven- 
tures into his father's presence. " Father," he says 
with well affected grief, " I am sorry I went from 
home. If you will let me come back again, I will 
try and do better in future." 

He is forgiven and reinstated in his former place 
at the family homestead. 

What does my reader think ? Is this a case of true 
penitence ; or is it not ? This lad felt sorrowful ; he 
confessed his fault ; he promised amendment. These 
are the three elements of repentance ; yet still, I 
press the question, was he a penitent ? 

Before resolving this point ; I wish to introduce 
another illustration. 

Suppose, then, a mother and her daughter residing 
in some pleasant country village. It is a school holi- 
day. 



REPENTANCE. 25 

" Mother, may I go to play with the girls in the 
pasture, this afternoon ? " inquires the child. 

" You may, Helen, on one condition." 

" What is that, mother ? " 

" That you will not go into Mr. Lester's meadow 
after strawberries." 

" Why not, mother ? " 

" Because the ivy abounds there. Mr. Lester's 
men were poisoned by it last summer ; and you know 
your playmate, Jane Carter, is now sick from the same 
cause. She went there last week to gather strawber- 
ries, and her feet are sadly swollen through be- 
ing poisoned by the ivy." 

" Then I am sure, mother, I will not go into the 
meadow." 

" On that condition, you may join your frends in 
their pastimes, this afternoon." 

Helen now sets out to join her companions, inward- 
ly resolved to keep her promise. Various are the 
sports pursued by the youthful party, beneath a clus- 
ter of pleasant trees in the pasture. They organize 
a mimic school ; they go through the forms of house- 



26 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

keeping ; they run, they race, they enjoy the exhila- 
ration of a swing, which is fastened safely to a stout 
old tree. At length, they are weary, and pause for 
some new method of spending the time. Presently, a 
little girl cries out, " Let us go into Mr. Lester's 
meadow and gather strawberries." 

" yes, let us go ; " respond a half dozen voices 
at once. 

Helen interposes. " no, don't let us go 
there." 

" Why not, Helen ? Why not, Helen ? " they in- 
quire. 

" There is poison ivy in the meadow," she replies. 
" O, is that all," they exclaim all at once. 
" Don't you know Jane Carter is sick through going 
into that meadow and getting poisoned with the 
ivy?" 

A pause ensues. The little party is startled. They 
know Jane Carter is sick. They may get poisoned 
too. Perhaps they had better not go. 

Thus they think a few moments, when one of the 
girls starts up and remarks : " Yes, Jane Carter is 



REPENTANCE. 27 

sick ; but I know where the ivy is. It is down near 
the brook, which runs through the meadow. Jane 
went there and got poisoned. We will keep away 
from the brook. Come, let us go, strawberries are 
ripe and plenty. Let us run to the meadow." 

This appeal decides them, and away they run 
across the pasture towards the meadow. Helen is 
following them slowly in the rear — her mother's 
caution ringing in her ears. 

The meadow is reached. The children are all, 
save Helen, half concealed in the grass, gathering 
strawberries. She peeps through the fence, longing 
to join her companions. 

" Come Helen ! " cries one, at the same moment 
holding up a large ripe strawberry by way of temp- 
tation. 

" My mother told me I must not enter the 
meadow," she said, though so faintly, it was plain 
her resolutions of obedience were fast giving way. 

"O!" said the other, coaxingly, " Your mother 
only meant you should not get near the ivy. If you 



28 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

don't get poisoned, she will not mind. Come, 
Helen ! " 

Helen was overcome by this specious reasoning 
of her wily companion. So she crept through the 
bars, and in a few minutes forgot her mother's admo- 
nition ; the playful remarks of the party, with the ex- 
citement of searching after the sweet ripe strawber- 
ries shut out all sober thought. 

At last, the descending sun summoned the wearied 
party to their homes. With many a merry laugh 
they approached the village, where one after the oth- 
er disappeared within the door of many a neat white 
cottage. When Helen entered her pleasant home, 
she felt strangely. Her happiness was all gone. 
Her heart sad. The pleasant greeting of her fond 
mother made her feel worse. She could not look her 
in the face. Neither could she eat at the tea table. 
When she went up stairs to bed and knelt down, as 
usual, to say her evening prayer, her heart swelled 
and choked with emotion ; she laid herself down, 
unable to utter a word of prayer ! 

Helen was guilty, and she felt it. Her mind was 



REPENTANCE. 29 

greatly troubled at a review of her disobedience. 
She could not sleep. Tossing about in her bed, 
turning from side to side, she vainly endeavored to 
forget the meadow, and the sin she had committed in 
entering it contrary to her mother's command. She 
bore these pangs of guilt for some time ; at last, find- 
ing no peace, she arose, dressed herself ; descending 
the stairs she entered the parlor, and with a bursting 
heart threw herself upon her mother's neck, exclaim* 
ing, u O mother, can you forgive me ? " 

" What for, my child ! " inquired her astonished 
parent. 

" For going into the meadow ! O mother, I am 
very wicked — can you, will you forgive me, I will 
never disobey you again," and the bursting sobs, the 
floods of tears which flowed down her cheeks, told 
how deeply she grieved for the wrong she had com- 
mitted. 

What does the reader think of Helen ? Was her 
penitence real ? I think he will unhesitatingly say, 
it was. Why ? Because she really felt sorry for 
her offence, 



30 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

Let us now return to the case of the boy already 
described. Let us compare his penitence with that 
of Helen's. 

And first, the lad was sorrowful. He confessed 
his offence and acknowledged himself sorry. But his 
reflections to himself shew that his sorrow was es- 
sentally different from Helen's. He sorrowed be- 
cause his sin had brought him to destitution. For the 
sin itself he felt no regret at all. That he had violat- 
ed filial obligation, and injured his parents in their 
rights and feelings, caused him no compunction ; the 
thought of it did not humble his heart. While Helen 
thought of nothing but the wickedness of her con- 
duct. She might or might not suffer punishment. 
Of this, she thought nothing. She was hateful in 
her own eyes, because she had sinned against her 
mother. 

While, then, the lad felt unhumbled and without 
sorrow for his offence, his confession was only hy- 
pocrisy, and his promise to reform a conscious 
falsehood. With his feeling, he could not intend to be 
a dutiful son. His whole repentance was one of con- 



REPENTANCE. 31 

venience to himself. A work of necessity, which he 
must perform, or die of starvation. 

But with Helen the case was entirely the reverse. 
Sincerely sorry for her offence, her confession was 
real ; her promise to be obedient genuine. 

With these illustrations before you, my dear read- 
er, I think it impossible to mistake the difference be- 
tween the " sorrow of the world " and ;; Godly 
sorrow." The former is caused by misfortunes, 
afflictions, disgust at the world, and even by the fear 
of hell ; but is unattended by self-loathing, by grief, 
for sin itself ; the latter may originate in the same 
instrumental causes, but it goes farther ; it sorrows 
over sin; it mourns sore, because it has grieved so 
good a God as the Lord ; and it is followed by an 
immediate abandonment of all evil doings. 

If then, young convert, you wish to know whether 
you have truly repented, ask yourself this question — 
seek the answer in the deep recesses of your spirit. 
Have I ever grieved over sin ? Have I loathed my- 
self for having sinned against God ? Have I, with a 
broken and contrite heart, confessed my sins and ac- 



32 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

knowledge d my transgressions to my Creator ? Has 
my self-loathing on account of sin, led me to avoid 
it as a fiery serpent ? To put away all my evil deeds 
and to devote myself to the practice of righteousness ? 
If so — if you can answer these questions in the af- 
firmative, you may rely upon it you have felt Godly 
sorrow. 

Shortly after my conversion, I remember being 
sent for to visit a sick youth. I found him desperate- 
ly sick, and in severe agony of mind. His cries for 
mercy were distressingly painful, for he expected to 
die and to be sent to hell. 

Upon seeing him in so much mental distress, I 
pointed him to the Savior of the world. I exhorted 
him to believe for salvation. But no ! he would not 
be comforted, and after a short season spent in pray- 
er, I left him. 

Again I stood at his bedside. His mental agony 
had become intenser than the pangs of his bodily dis- 
ease. Once more, I declared the wonders of the 
cross to him. As I then thought and hoped, he em- 
braced it with a saving faith. Certainly, his counte- 



REPENTANCE. 33 

nance changed, and he rejoiced with an exceeding 
great joy. This pleasant and happy frame of mind 
continued. I frequently stood astonished at the sur- 
prising alteration which had taken place in his feel- 
ings. 

After a time, his disease yielded to medical skill, 
His recovery was rapid, and he was soon convalescent. 
I saw him about the first time he left his house, and, 
to my bitter regret, perceived his relish for religious 
things was declining. The next time I saw him, he 
was as wicked as ever. 

This, I have ever considered a case of worldly 
sorrow. That young man was more afraid of hell 
than of sin. When the fear of hell was removed, 
by his recovery, the true state of his heart became 
apparent. He never felt " Godly sorrow," because he 
never brought forth its fruits. When Paul pro- 
nounced the sorrows of the Corinthians u Godly," he 
could say of it, " For behold this self-same thing, that 
ye sorrowed after a Godly sort, what carefulness it 
wrought in you, yea what clearing of yourselves ; yea 
what indignation ; yea what fear ; yea what vehe- 



34 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

ment desire ; yea what zeal ; i. e. : their sorrow was 
Godly because it led to the entire putting away of 
sin. 

But, it is asked, what do you understand to have been 
the cause of that young man's joy ? Probably it was 
only a mental hallucination, caused, chiefly, by the 
large quantities of narcotics which were administered 
to him in his sickness. But whatever caused it, it 
was not from the Lord, or it would have been, at 
least, temporarily fruitful. 

Godly sorrow, therefore, you perceive, " brings 
forth fruits meet for repentance." 



CHAPTER III. 



DIFFICULTIES IN THE WAY OF PENITENTS. 

|S% URING a certain revival, there was a person 
among the serious who manifested great 
mental distress. He groaned aloud ; he wept bitter- 
ly ; he even fell prostrate before the altar and poured 
forth bitter cries for mercy. 

In the same revival there was another mourner, 
who did not, and could not, experience such violent 
grief. While he looked upon the other, and con- 
trasted his own calm manner with the other's excited 
feeling, he doubted whether he was a penitent at all. 

Nor is he the only disciple, who has doubted on 

this point. The different manifestations of penitence 

35 



36 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

have been a prolific source of perplexity to many of 
Christ's lambs. Perhaps it is to you, my dear read- 
er. Shall I remove your doubt ? 

Did you never observe a vast difference in the 
temperaments of different persons. Some are very 
calm and moderate in all their feelings ; others are 
ardent and fiery. Let one man be informed of some 
calamity, which has befallen his property or family, 
and he will betray scarcely an outward emotion, 
while another will break forth into the wildest and 
most passionate lamentations. When these persons, 
so differently constituted, are brought under the oper- 
ations of grace, there will be, yea there must be, in 
the nature of things, a corresponding difference in 
their manifestations of these operations. 

Happily for those timid disciples, who almost love 
to doubt, the Holy Scriptures contain ample illus- 
trations of this difference of outward manifestation 
in the work of repentance. They give us the glowing 
account of that ardent and fiery man, the Phillipian 
jailer. Rashly impetuous in his natural temper, he 
would, under the vivid impression that his prisoners 



DIFFICULTIES IN THE WAY OF PENITENTS. 37 

have escaped, and he, by consequence, liable to make 
the forfeiture of life, have rushed upon his sword 
and thrown away his life in an outbreak of passion- 
ate grief. Then, suddenly awakened by the Holy 
Spirit, with a violence almost as great, he hurriedly 
calls for a light, rushes to the feet of the apostles, 
falls prostrate, and cries in loud and bitter tones, 
" What shall I do to be saved ? " 

Here was grace acting on the man of ardent pas- 
sions. Earnest and excited before his awakening, he 
is earnest and excited in his penitence. And so, in 
general, will all persons of strong passions comport 
themselves when under conviction. 

Now, compare with this ardent Phillipian jailer, the 
moderate, but decided publican. There he stands at 
the door of the temple, heart-stricken, but calm. The 
arrow sinks far into his heart. He feels deeply the 
terrible fact that he is a sinner. Yet he displays 
none of the heat and haste of the former. Firmness 
and decision he does exhibit in those downcast eyes, 
that hand smiting on the guilty breast, and in that 
spirit-felt prayer, " God be merciful to me a sinner." 



38 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

That was the earnest utterance of his soul's depths. 
But there was none of the violent emotion of the 
jailer. There could scarcely be as much, he was a 
man of different mould. 

And again, there was Lydia — the mild, gentle, al- 
most passive Lydia. Her heart was like a rose-bud, 
closed at first, but slowly expanding, under the soft 
influence of the gentle night- dews and the warm sun- 
beams, into a full-blown rose. So, when grace fell 
upon her naturally sweet spirit, it yielded itself up 
freely to the blessed influence, and therefore she is 
described as " Lydia whose heart the Lord opened" 

Why are these cases of dissimilar experience given 
in Holy Writ ? What is your opinion, serious one ? 
Are they not given to teach you that, if in your pen- 
itence you acted yourself; i. e. : if your repentance 
was in keeping with your mental character, you 
should be satisfied, and not uselessly grieve because 
you repented like Lydia, or like the publican, rather 
than like the jailer. 

There is another source of anxious feeling in some 
Christians. They cannot resolve the question of the 



DIFFICULTIES IN THE WAY OF PENITENTS. 39 

proper duration of repentance. Some penitents re- 
tain that character a week, others a month ; some 
many months and even years. While with some, a 
sudden awakening is followed by an almost instant- 
aneous faith. " How long, then," the penitent will 
inquire, " must I continue to repent before I believe 
in Christ ? " And the tempted believer will ask, 
" Did I retain a penitential character a sufficient time 
to make it acceptable to God ? " 

This point is easily settled by considering the 
end for which repentance is required of sinners. If 
it is to wash out sin, or to require merit by sighs and 
tears, then it ought to continue a long time. But this 
is not the fact. Eepentance has no merit whatever. 
Tears are useless in the work of washing away sins. 
Why then is it required at all ? What is accomplished 
by it ? Why just what is accomplished by pain and 
weakness in the body. They induce the sufferer to send 
for a physician, to submit himself wholly to medical 
skill. So with penitence. It is sorrowful consciousness 
of guilt ; inward regret for past sins ; when that sense 
of guilt, and that inward sorrow have made a person 



40 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

willing to forsake the sin and to abandon himself to 
the love of the Divine Savior, they have done their 
work, whether they were wrought in the heart a 
year or a moment since. He, whose repentance 
is sufficient to produce the giving up of the heart to 
Jesus Christ, may, and ought to believe at once. 

It is not merely the privilege, but the solemn duty 
of the penitent to believe, when he is willing to give 
up all his sins. All his lingering fears, his timid 
reasonings, his unscriptural doubts, are so many sins. 
It should be his first business, when willing to give 
the heart to God, to embrace Christ. Immediate 
faith is the demand of Holy Writ. How illustrative 
is the experience of the primitive church, of the 
teachings of Scripture on this point. The day of 
Pentecost saw its thousands of believers, who in the 
morning were dead in trespasses and sin. Awaken- 
ing, instruction, penitence and faith, were all accom- 
plished in a few hours. So with the Ethiopian Eu- 
nuch, with Cornelius, with the jailer. All these sus- 
tained the character of penitents but a very short 



DIFFICULTIES IN THE WAY OF PENITENTS-. 41 

time. Long enough to abandon sin and take Christ 
for their Savior. 

So, dear reader, should you. If still a mourner in 
Zion, be sure that you are willing to give up sin ; and 
then give self and sin immediately to Christ. Delay 
not an instant. No, not even to shed a few more 
tears. Believe at once ! If, however, you are a be- 
liever, and have queries concerning your past peni- 
tence, let them be resolved into this : " Did I repent 
long enough to cast away my sins and come to 
Christ ? " If so, rejoice. Its duration, whether a 
moment or a year, was long enough. 

The fact of your repentance, however genuine, 
does not prove that you are a Christian. It only 
proves that you began right ; that you entered in at 
the strait gate. Your claim to the high character 
of a believer in Christ, depends on the existence of 
a living faith. Repentance is no proof of saving 
faith. It is necessary to it. It must go before it. 
But it is a forerunner, not a successor, To be plain, 
repentance precedes, not follows, regeneration. 
" Let a man have ever so much repentance, or 



42 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

ever so many of the fruits meet for repentance, yet 
all this does not at all avail ; he is not justified till he 
believes." # 

Many well-meaning persons have erred on this 
point, and have considered their penitence to be an 
evidence of regeneration. The reason of this mis- 
take is, that a state of repentance supposes a change 
in the disposition and feelings of a sinner. And this 
change they call regeneration. 

Their mistake lies in confounding the change, 
called being converted, or born of God, in the Scrip- 
tures, with that preparatory and partial change, ex- 
perienced in a penitent state. The truth is, many 
changes take place in a sinner's heart before he is 
renewed. The gospel finds him dead and stupid. 
It awakens him, and he listens. This is a change, 
but it is not conversion. When the sinner listens he 
feels. Very often he feels despair. This is another 
change, but still he is not regenerated. Thus, with all 
the stages of penitential feeling, they exhibit changes, 
but not that wonderful change which takes place at 

* Wesley. 



DIFFICULTIES IN THE WAY OF PENITENTS. 43 

his conversion. As this is a point of some practical 
importance, I will establish it by a few simple argu- 
ments. 

Repentance does not procure power over sin for 
the penitent. His language is that of a man in chains ; 
he feels and bemoans his bonds but cannot break 
away from them. From outward sins, as profanity, 
stealing or lying, he may indeed break away, but 
how to fulfil God's holy and spiritural law, he, as yet, 
knows not. Hence, he cries with the apostle, when 
describing his experience before justification, " O 
wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from 
the body of this death ? " But, let that penitent pass 
from death unto life — let him be converted, and he 
will exclaim, " There is, therefore, now no condem- 
nation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk 
not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law 
of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, hath made me 
free from the law of sin and death!" Whoever 
heard a penitent sinner adopt this last quotation from 
Holy Writ ? Yet, if repentance be a fruit of regen- 



44 PATH OF LIFE. 

eration, it would be appropriate to every newly- 
awakened sinner. 

It is, moreover, a fact, that penitents are over- 
whelmed with condemnation ; while it is clear, that 
to those who are in Christ, " There is no condemna- 
tion." Every penitent is also conscious of not being 
regenerated ; hence, his prayer is for a new heart. 
To tell him he already has it, is to tell a man con- 
sciously blind that he can see. The Scriptures, also, 
place repentance before conversion. Their language 
is " Repent and be forgiven" while, they no where 
command us to be converted and then repent ; which, 
if the latter were a fruit of the former, would be the 
natural and proper order of the divine precept. 

I must beg my dear reader to remember, that while 
these remarks refer to that sense of guilt, that bitter 
remorse and self-loathing, which overtakes the new- 
ly awakened sinner ; and while it is strictly true that 
such a penitence invariably precedes regeneration, 
it does not follow that there is no penitent feeling af- 
ter conversion. On the contrary, true believers never 



DIFFICULTIES IN THE WAY OF PENITENTS. 45 

cease to be penitents in a restricted sense. They 
will even grieve over past sin, over present deficien- 
cies, over the lack of conformity in body, soul and 
spirit, to the holy law of God, which, but for the cov- 
ering wing of heavenly mercy, would destroy them. 
But the repentance of believers is unattended by un- 
mitigated sense of guilt, which condemns the peni- 
tent. It sees demerit, helplessness, sinfulness, and 
grieves ; but at the same moment, faith grasps the 
atonement and the heart finds rest. This action of a 
penitent faith, after regeneration, is well described by 
Mr. Wesley. 

" By repentance, we feel the sin remaining in our 
hearts, and cleaving to our words and actions ; by 
faith, we receive the power of God in Christ, purifying 
our hearts and cleansing our hands. By repentance, 
we are still sensible that we deserve punishment for 
all our tempers, and words, and actions ; by faith, 
we are conscious that our Advocate with the Father 
is continually pleading for us, and thereby continual- 
ly turning aside all condemnation and punishment 
from us. By repentance we have an abiding con- 



46 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

viction that there is no help in us ; by faith, we re- 
ceive, not only mercy, but grace to help in every 
time of need. Repentance disclaims the very possi- 
bility of any other help ; faith accepts all the help 
we stand in need of, from him that hath all power in 
heaven and earth. Repentance says, c Without him 
I can do nothing.' Faith says, ' I can do all things 
through Christ strengthening me.' Through him, I 
can not only overcome, but expel, all the enemies of 
my soul. Through him, I can ; love the Lord 
my God with all my heart, mind, soul and strength;^ 
yea, and ' walk in holiness and righteousness before 
him, all the days of my life.' " * 

* Wesley's Sermons. 







CHAPTER IV. 

SAVING FAITH EXPLAINED. 

^HE Jews complained against God. God's 
anger burned. He sent fiery serpents among 
them. Thousands died. Thousands more la}^ sick 
and dying. 

Moses interceded. God listened to his faithful ser- 
vant. He bade Moses erect a brazen serpent on a 
pole, and proclaim that whoever looked upon it should 
live. It was done. The voice of the herald pro- 
claimed God's plan of mercy to His perishing people. 

Strange proclamation ! Shall life come back to 

the dying, if his glassy eye can only direct a glance 

upon that brazen effigy ? See, my reader ! That 

47 



48 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

murmuring Jew is so swollen, it seems his veins will 
burst ; so covered with flowing ulcers, his death 
seems sure ; yea, the life-struggle is over ; the death- 
film is fast spreading over his burning eyes ; another 
breath or two and the death-agony will be done. But 
he hears that herald voice. He remembers the won- 
ders of Juda's God, and with his remaining strength, 
turns his discolored and repulsive head towards the 
uplifted brass. His eye rests upon it. His heart 
believes in Jehovah's mercy. He expects instant re- 
covery. And lo, how great the change ! His eyes 
grow lustrous, his color returns ; his size and natural 
shape are restored ; his ulcers disappear ; the fire 
in his blood goes out ; his pulse beats strongly ; and 
leaping upon his feet, he rejoices in the mercy of 
God. 

Of this scene, our blessed Redeemer said, " As 
Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so also 
must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever be- 
lieveth in him might not perish, but have everlasting 
life." It is therefore an illustration of the faith by 
which a sinner obtains pardon from the mouth of 



SAVING FAITH EXPLAINED. 49 

grace, condemned, confessing the justice of that 
sentence which dooms him to eternal death, yet cry- 
ing for mercy. When that sinner's mind sees the 
blessed Jesus lifted up on the cross to make atone- 
ment for sin, and he believes in his heart that, be- 
cause Christ was so lifted up, God now accepts and 
forgives him, he is as instantly forgiven as the Jew 
was suddenly cured. God accounts him righteous, be- 
cause he believes in Christ ; and sends forth the 
Spirit of his Son into his heart, whereby he instantly 
cries, " Abba, Father." 

You see, serious reader, that in the case of the 
Jew, there was an unhesitating belief that what God 
said of looking at the brazen serpent was literally 
true. With this belief in the word of God, there 
was an inward reliance of the heart upon it, and an 
expectation of immediate recovery. The result 
agreed with the expectation. 

And such a reliance of the heart on the promise 
of salvation, accompanied by present expectation of 
divine mercy, is justifying faith. It is " an act of 



50 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

God. With his heart contrite, he lies at a throne of 
recumbency — we do rest upon Christ, as the stones 
in the building rest upon the corner-stone. Faith 
throws itself into Christ's arms ; it saith, c Christ is 
my priest — his blood is my sacrifice — his divine 
nature is my altar, and here I rest.' " * When a 
praying sinner throws himself thus into Christ's arms, 
and looks into his heart, expecting to find the divine 
witness there ; according to his faith, so is the fact. 
He is justified. 

If my reader is truly a child of God, he has ex- 
perienced this faith. For " without faith it is im- 
possible to please God ! " and, " there is none other 
name under heaven given among men> whereby we 
must be saved" 

It may happen, nay, it is the undoubted fact, that, 
notwithstanding the simplicity of faith, many of 
Christ's little ones suffer much doubt and perplexity, 
concerning the genuineness of their faith. One of 
these will look back, often and anxiously, to the hour 
of his conversion, and inquire : " Did I really ex- 

* Thomas Watson. 



SAVING FAITH EXPLAINED. 51 

perience true faith ? " He would give the world to 
have that question satisfactorily decided. 

My dear, doubting reader, let me give you a key to 
this heart-aching problem. That problem, vastly 
important as it is to you, is easy of solution, where 
real faith has existed. If you have ever found a 
sweet peace filling your soul, when you were resting 
on the love of Jesus ; and if that peace has been 
followed by renewed efforts after purity, then may 
you be sure that you have possessed true faith. 
Peace, and I affirm it with emphasis, that springs up 
in the heart while it is trusting in Jesus, must be gen- 
uine. It agrees with Scripture : " He that believeth 
shall be saved." You believed, that is, you trusted 
in Christ. You were saved, or in other words, you 
felt the peace of God in your soul. 

If such has been your experience, away with your 
doubts and fears. Consider that point settled. 
Whatever you may be to-day, you have been a true 
believer. But if your peace has proceeded from other 
causes, rejoice not in it, nor be satisfied. Be con- 



52 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

tented only with peace that follows the resting of the 
soul on Jesus. 

I have read of a beautiful woman, who w T as born 
blind. Every feature of her pensive countenance 
was lovely ; her form, too, was exquisitely moulded, 
but she was blind ! 

A physician, of superior skill, at last performed a 
critical operation upon her eyes. It was successful, 
and her spirit flashed forth rays of light, which added 
fresh beauty to the beautiful. She gazed, for the 
first time, on nature, on art, on her friends. Con- 
ceive, if possible, of the joy she felt as the world 
revealed itself, like a new creation to her mind — of 
the unspeakable emotion she felt, in beholding her 
mother's face ; in seeing a father's smile, for the first 
time in her life, of thirty years. 

But, she hears the gathering thunder-storm — very 
often has she heard it before, and heard, too, of the 
bright lightning flash. Now, she may see the gran- 
deur of the elemental war. Sublimely grand to her, 
are those angry clouds, piled up, like mountains in 
the skies ; fearful is that vivid lightning-sheet, and 



SAVING FAITH EXPLAINED. 53 

more fearful still, are those forked and fiery bolts 
which run along their terrible cloud-paths. Still she 
is riveted to the spot in amazement. When, alas ! a 
flash, bright and vengeful, strikes the wondering wo- 
man. She is taken up insensible, but not dead. 
When she recovers, her first words are : " How dark ! 
Is it night ? Why have you closed the shutters ? " 
It was not dark. The storm had passed, and a flood 
of sunshine had filled the room ; but she, poor hap- 
less creature, was blind again. The bright visions 
of an hour, the happy smiles of her parents, were 
faded away, and, to her, the world was involved in 
an unending night. 

This unhappy lady represents a class of persons, 
in, and around the Church of Jesus Christ. As she 
obtained sight, and enjoyed it only a few hours, be- 
fore she was plunged into darkness again ; so these 
persons have once exercised a saving faith ; have re- 
joiced a while in its light ; and then sunk into gloom 
and condemnation. Their experience has been a 
path of darkness, with a momentary halo of light at 
the beginning. They really believed, enjoyed Scrip- 



54 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

tural peace a little while ; and, since then, have 
groped their way in a dark and dismal wilderness. 

These persons are certainly very unhappy. They 
are sincere, too. They really wish to know the path 
of peace. But they have missed it ; and missed it 
through ignorance — without intending it, they have 
" cast away their confidence" Let us examine a 
picture of such an experience, drawn from life. 

I once knew a young man, who, having groped 
for six weeks in fearfulness and gloom, after the 
Lord Jesus, was induced to attend a prayer-meet- 
ing. There, for the first time, his heart said : " Je- 
sus, Jesus ! thou art mine" With that trust, a heaven- 
ly peace overspread his soul. He went away changed 
in countenance, changed in feeling, a converted per- 
son. For several hours he rejoiced in God, his Sa- 
vior. He closed his eyes that night, praising God. 

When he awoke the next morning, his mind, of 
course, was vacant ; and his heart, by a necessary 
consequence, was without emotion. He looked 
within himself for the joy of the last evening. It 
was not there. He was distressed beyond measure. 



SAVING FAITH EXPLAINED 55 

" Ah," he cried, " I was deceived. My religion was 
not genuine." 

This hasty conclusion being made, gross darkness 
filled his soul, a deep horror overspread his spirit. 
Still he did not yield without a struggle. But he 
struggled in a wrong direction. He tried to make the 
feelings he had yesternight. By a forced effort of 
mind, he endeavored to bring them back. Vain at- 
tempt. The cloud grew darker ; the darkness be- 
came like that of Egypt, such as might be felt. It 
was very long before that young man again found 
real peace. 

Wherein did his mistake lie ? Where did his er- 
ror begin ? 

Not in the vacant state of his mind, and in the un- 
feeling state of his heart, in the waking moment. 
Those states were unavoidable. In sleep, he had, of 
necessity, abandoned the helm of reason and of feel- 
ing : they were led by the imagination, into the 
fancies and vagaries of " dreamland." On waking, 
therefore, no positive state of feeling could exist. 
He should have taken the helm of reason into his 



56 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

hands, given a right direction to his thoughts, 
and then his feelings would have arisen sweetly and 
promptly. Had he reflected a moment on the cause 
of his last night's joy, he would have seen it to be 
the fruit of that faith, which said : "Jesus thou art 
mine." But he expected the effect without the 
cause. Had he, on awakening and perceiving the 
vacancy of his heart, gone, with earnest prayer to a 
throne of grace, still crying, " Jesus, thou art my Sa- 
vior," all would have been well. Faith would have 
brought feeling ; he would have gone on his way re- 
joicing. Instead of this, he exercised no faith ; 
made no new appropriation of Christ to himself, but 
rather cast his faith away, by saying : " I am not 
saved. Christ is not my Savior." 

I have feared that our churches lose many promis- 
ing converts, and that many of our professing Chris- 
tians live in sorrow and doubt from this cause. Some, 
brought into darkness, like that young man, linger 
awhile in discouragement around the sanctuary and 
then break away entirely from its altars ; others re- 
main seeking in vain for light, hoping for a more 



SAVING FAITH EXPLAINED. 57 

cheering experience : sinning, and repenting, unhappy 
in themselves and useless to the Lord Jesus and his 
church. 

How unspeakably important it is for all to learn 
this simple lesson. Faith is not merely one act of 
trust in Christ, out an unlimited succession of acts. 
That is, a man cannot retain the Christian character 
with the one first act of trust, by which he is justified. 
He must perpetuate that act. His heart must con- 
tinually repeat the language of its first faith, 

" Lord, I am lost, 
But Christ hath died." 

If a man fall overboard at sea, and a life buoy 
is thrown to him, he is not saved because he grasps 
that life buoy for a moment or two and then lets it 
float away. No ! he must grasp it firmly. He must 
rest upon it ; hold on to it, amid the roaring waters 
until his shipmates come to his relief. It is so with 
Christ. Sinking into hell, I cry to God for help. He 
gives me Jesus his crucified Son. " Trust on him," 
he says, " and I will save you." My sinking spirit 
reaches after that Savior. It grasps him and feels 



58 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

safe. So far well. But if I let him go and say, " I 
am deceived ; Christ is not my Savior," I begin to 
sink again. The waters gather round my soul and I 
perish. I must then hold on. Every moment I must 
resolutely believe that God for Christ's sake forgives 
me and then I shall retain my peace ; and live what 
is appropriately called a "life of faith." 

There is no truth in the Scriptures more earnestly 
taught then the necessity of a constant and ever 
living faith. Paul calls a Christian life, " the fight 
of faith." Wherefore ? Because this ever repeated 
trust in Christ is the only defence a child of God 
has against the weapons -of his destroyer. It is for 
the same reason called " the shield of faith" Back- 
sliding is called "casting away of faith or confidence" 
while to " keep the faith " is accounted the highest 
success of a believer. In short, every act of obe- 
dience, every acceptable duty, every sin subdued, 
every conquest won, every onward step taken, and 
every blessing gained in answer to prayer, the Scrip- 
tures ascribe to faith. How, then, can one act of 



SAVING FAITH EXPLAINED. 59 

faith be sufficient ? Impossible ! utterly impossible. 
I must believe always, instantly, until I can say : 

" Every moment. Lord, I feel 
The merits of thy blood." 

The real question, therefore, for the young Chris- 
tian to ask, is, " Do I now exercise a real faith in 
Christ ? Have I now a sure, delightful confidence 
that God for Christ's sake accepts me ? " If to this, 
he can answer " Yea," he can well afford to let the 
question of the reality of his past experience alone, 
It may be interesting to know when one first rea- 
lized the blessings of the gospel. It is not, however, 
important. The question is, " Do I now believe ? " 

I have been at sea. Amid the solitudes of the 
ocean, I have sailed for weeks together with no 
other objects round me and my fellow voyagers, 
but the majestic ocean and the beautiful sky. These 
had their various aspects of terror and beauty. The 
ocean in the stilly calm, spread out like a vast mir- 
ror for the sun, was beautiful indeed ; lashed into fu- 
ry by the wild wind, it was awfully sublime. The 
sky, now bright and cloudless with the glorious sun 



60 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

dazzling on its breast, or at night spangled with stars, 
and fringed with many-colored cloud- wreaths, was 
lovely ; overspread with the wings of the storm- 
demon, like the ocean, it too was greatly grand. 
Still the varieties of nature grew monotonous. He 
longed for the sight of humanity, for home and terra 
firma. 

A sail has hove in sight. The cry of " Sail ho," 
from some vigilant watcher, has brought all on board 
to the tanrail. A short gaze at the horizon has re- 
vealed the dim form of a ship to every eye. All 
have seen something, they called it a ship, many 
miles distant. Very soon, some have declared her 
class, whether ship or brig, merchant vessel or man- 
of-war. But to others she remained longer undefin- 
ed, and it would be long before every eye could dis- 
cern what had been visible to others at almost their 
first glance. Differing in opinion as to her class, 
they yet all agreed in the fact — they saw a ship. 

It is thus with believers in Christ. They see Him 
with different degrees of faith. To one, his lovely 
form is full and distinct. Like Stephen, he cries : 



SAVING FAITH EXPLAINED. 61 

" I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man 
standing on the right hand of God." To another, 
he is visible, but involved in a dim cloud yet. Firm 
of heart, that believer cries : " I know in whom I 
have believed." To a third, he is seen, but scarcely 
recognized. " My heart burns within me," he ex- 
claims, as did the disciples at Emmaus, and yet, he 
dares not believe that he sees his Lord. 

When a disciple of the latter class, hears the testi- 
mony of one of the former class, he is disposed to 
doubt his own faith, and to deny that he sees his Lord 
at all. This is wrong : fatally wrong. It is even 
foolish. What if among the gazers at the ship we 
just now described, one of them, who could not de- 
cide her quality when all the rest could see her to be 
a brig, should therefore say, he saw no ship at alL 
Because he could not see as clearly as they, should 
he therefore say he could not see at all ? You 
smile at his supposed folly. Yet the case is that of 
the man, who, because he cannot as yet see so much 
of his Lord's glory and beauty as his fellow disciple, 
denies the reality of what he does see. 



62 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

This should not be. Faith has degrees. One be- 
liever grasps the promise with a giant's strength, 
another clasps it with the weakness of a babe. Yet 
the faith of one is as real as the faith of the other, 
and as the babe's strength will increase with its 
growth, so will faith strengthen by exercise. And 
he, who to-day considers himself the weakest of 
Christ's disciples, may scripturally expect to have 
a faith as strong as Stephen's, as victorious as Paul's. 

Hold on, then, lamb of the flock, to thy faith ! Res- 
olutely believe Christ is thine and thou art Christ's. 
Be afraid to doubt, for doubt is presumption. To 
doubt is to deny God — to contradict the word of his 
grace. He has said it — he cannot lie — if you be- 
lieve you shall be saved. Then it must be so. To 
cast yourself on Christ, and to say in your heart, 
" God will not accept me," is an act of terrible 
wickedness. Do not for your soul's sake commit it. 
But stand on his promise. Say, God has promised ; 
I believe I am accepted. Let no thought of a stony 
heart, a want of feeling, or any thing else, hinder 
thee. Thou art not to be saved for having feelings, 



SAVING FAITH EXPLAINED. 63 

or tenderness of spirit, but because Christ died. Nay, 
thy very hardness gives thee claim, for it was to 
change the stony heart to flesh, to save the guilty, 
that Jesus offered up himself to God. Believe, then, 
my dear reader. Believe now — believe always, 
and thou wilt surely be saved. 




CHAPTER V. 

THE OPERATIONS OF FAITH. 

ET thee out of thy country, and from thy kin- 
dred, and from thy fathers house, into a land 
that I will show thee. Thus spoke the Almighty to 
Abraham. Did he obey? He did. The sacred 
chronicle says, " He went out, not knowing whither he 
went." Yes, he forsook his home, his country, the 
friends of his youth, all the pleasant associations of 
his early life, and went forth, a pilgrim wanderer, he 
knew not whither. Henceforth, he must dwell with 
strangers ; he must move through hostile countries ; 
he must be a man, marked by all men as singular 
and differing from the whole world. Nor could he 
explain himself so as to be comprehended, because 
his motive was spiritual, and to an idolatrous world 

inexplicable. 

64 



THE OPERATIONS OF FAITH. 65 

Abraham's emigration was, therefore, one of the 
most sublime instances of human reliance on the Di- 
vine veracity, recorded in the history of man ! God 
promised him, in his descendants, the possession of 
Canaan. Without visible proofs, or outward proba- 
bilities, relying solely on the promise of God, he took 
the required steps to inherit the promise. He went 
fearlessly into hostile nations ; he crossed wilder- 
nesses without terror ; he became a homeless wan- 
derer, yet without any apprehension of want or dan- 
ger. " I am obeying Jehovah ! He will provide ! 
My children shall dwell in Canaan ! I shall have a 
city out of sight ; " was the language of his confiding 
spirit. 

This was true, saving faith — a practical confi- 
dence in God. And this is the confidence which 
every true believer should have in his heavenly 
Father. 

It is a believer's privilege to have unlimited and 

abiding confidence in God. He may feel always 

that, both in things spiritual and temporal, God will 

do the very best that can be done. He may dismiss 
6 



66 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

all distressing fears concerning the present or future. 
With David he may say of this life and its necessary 
blessings : " The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not 
want ; " and, in obedience to Christ, he may expel 
trouble from his breast. What Christian can fear 
when Christ so sweetly whispers : " Let not your 
heart be troubled" " Fear not, little flock" " Seek 
first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and 
all these things shall be added into you" 

These texts are ample foundations for the strong- 
est confidence. They authorize us to expect suffi- 
cient spiritual aid to overcome the world, the flesh, 
and the Devil ; and they give a pledge that in this 
life a true Christian shall never suffer real evil. 
He shall have food and raiment, property and bless- 
ing, sufficient to enable him to do God's will in the 
best manner and to gain eternal life. 

Our sensitive and selfish natures shrink from afflic- 
tions. We look upon them as ghastly spectres or 
haunting ghosts. Hence, when they enter our habi- 
tations and lay our bodies on sick beds ; or burn our 
property, bring confusion upon our business arrange- 



THE OPERATIONS OF FAITH. 67 

ments, and plunge us into a chaos of financial diffi- 
culties, we let our faith sink lower and lower. Un- 
belief rises, and we doubt whether God is really do- 
ing for us all he has promised to do. 

A certain father once took his son to sea. He was 
a naval officer of some celebrity, and his purpose 
was to make his son eminent in the naval service. 
To accomplish this end, he saw it necessary to have 
his son become a thorough seaman. He wished 
him to understand every part of a sailor's duty. 

When the lad went on board his father's ship, he 
naturally expected some indulgence. The transition 
from an elegant home, a kind mother, accomplished 
sisters, to the rough and stormy life of the sailor, 
was very great. He hoped, therefore, for he knew 
his father to be kind, to escape the severer duties of 
his station. 

But he was self-deceived. Once at the post of 
duty, his father made no distinction. In the dark 
and dreary night, he was ordered aloft with his com- 
panions. Once, when dreadfully sea-sick, he ven- 
tured to his father with a request to be excused. 



68 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

" Do your duty, sir ! " was the stern reply ; and as the 
boy mounted the giddy mast that night, he, for the 
first time, doubted his father's love. 

Like his young shipmates, he sometimes commit- 
ted little misdemeanors — he violated some of the 
minuter rules of naval discipline. " My father is 
Captain," was his inward thought ; " I shall have in- 
dulgence." Again he was deceived. The rebuke 
upon him fell sterner and more severe than on any 
other lad. Once more he doubted his father's love. 

This lad was of buoyant spirits and of daring mind. 
He prided himself in feats of skill and courage. 
One day he climbed the topmast height of the taper 
mast, and, to the terror even of the sailors, stood up- 
right on the main truck. At that instant, his father 
came up from the cabin. " See your son, sir ! " ex- 
claimed his Lieutenant, pale with fear. One glance 
of his eye, a sudden rush into the cabin, a moment's 
time, and that father stood with rifle pointed toward 
his son, shouting : " Jump over board, sir, or I will 
shoot you." The boy leaped into the sea and was 



THE OPERATIONS OF FAITH. 69 

saved. Not understanding the object of his father, 
the lad again doubted his father's love. 

The cruise of nearly four years was ended and 
the lad and his father were once more in the halls of 
their ancestors. The boy had become almost a man. 
He was well skilled in seamanship, and the service 
could not produce a more skilful and promising 
young officer than he. In their home, too, the father 
was as tender and affectionate as he was prior to the 
cruise. The youth wondered at the mystery of his 
parent's conduct. Stern and severe at sea, but kind 
and loving at home : what could be his real charac- 
ter ? 

The father and son are closeted. " My son," says 
the father, " you have probably wondered at some 
parts of my conduct. I compelled you to go aloft 
when you were sea-sick. I rebuked you severely 
for your occasional faults. It was painful to me to do 
these things, but your interests required them. I 
meant, if possible, to make you a brave and finished 
seaman. The things you felt most keenly about, 
were the most necessary for your final profit. When 



70 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

I threatened to shoot you as you stood on the main 
truck, it was to save your life. Had I expostulated a 
moment you would have fallen. There was no way 
to save your life but to force you to jump into the 
sea. I have aimed in all these things to secure your 
benefit." 

The reader can readily imagine that such an ex- 
planation would entirely remove the doubts, which 
the apparently harsh discipline of the father had excit- 
ed in the son. He would even condemn himself for 
having doubted at all ; and wonder at the mental 
stupidity which prevented him from entering into his 
father's wise designs. 

Precisely similar are the dealings of God with be- 
lievers. His children cannot be discovered by any 
outward providences ; nor distinguished from sinners 
by visible signs of heavenly favor. Nay, they are 
on the other hand, often sorely afflicted. A pious 
Joseph is maligned, persecuted and oppressed ; a faith- 
ful David is hunted like a beast of prey by his wicked 
enemies ; a resolute Daniel is cast into a den of lions 
for his faithfulness ; a submissive Job is stripped of his 



THE OPERATIONS OF FAITH. 71 

precious things and made a spectacle of desolation ; 
a faithful Jeremiah is cast into a pit ; a devoted 
Stephen is given up to the violence of gospel haters ; 
a zealous Paul is compelled to carry a thorn in the 
flesh, and an affectionate John to be an exile on lonely 
Patmos. 

The key to all this suffering in the disciples of the 
Savior is furnished by that apostle who wrote that : 
" All these things work together for good to them that 
love God ; " and " These light afflictions, which are 
hut for a moment, work out for us afar more exceed- 
ing and eternal iveight of glory" 

Here we have the solution of these untoward Provi- 
dences which sometimes successively overtake a 
pious Christian. God is aiming to make his salvation 
sure. To him the present convenience of the believ- 
er is nothing compared to his eternal blessedness. 
The happiness of the disciple in this life is not the 
end of God's gracious providences : the end with 
Him in his elevation to glory. 

This, then, is one work of faith. To be unmoved, 
conficl ent and calm in the darkest hour. However 



72 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

severely tried ; however storm-tossed, however much 
threatened with destruction, to indulge no doubt in 
God. Like a boy at sea, who retained his childish 
buoyancy in the midst of a terrible storm, which 
strained the ship to the limit of her endurance and 
made the most practised sailor tremble in expecta- 
tion of instant death. Seeing him so cool, a sailor 
said to him, " Are you not afraid ? " 

" No," was his prompt reply. 

" But the gale is very terrible," responded the 
sailor. 

" I know it. But my father 's at the helm ! " 

Admirable confidence ! would that the children of 
God would always maintain such faith in their father, 
and learn to say in every conflict and danger, " My 
father is at the Helm. God is ruler. He is pledg- 
ed to secure my safety. I cannot suffer real evil." 

" What we know not now we shall know hereafter" 
is an inspired statement. It is true. As the naval 
officer explained his conduct to his son, so will Jeho- 
vah condescend to shew his motives in sending heavy 
trials on his chosen one. The weeping mother shall 



THE OPERATIONS OF FAITH. 73 

know why God took that sweet babe from her 
breast; the widow shall be satisfied that God was 
kind in taking away her life's chief delight — the 
friend and partner of her youth ; the orphan shall 
understand the cause of his being left to the cold 
charities of a heartless world ; and the merchant 
shall have the mysteries of his many unforeseen 
reverses revealed. Wait, then, in faith, dear reader, 
for the issue of your afflictions. Believe with all 
your heart that all will terminate well ; that when 
you have overcome and are joined to the hosts of 
heaven, and think of your bitterest affliction, 

" This note above the rest shall swell, 
My Jesus hath done all things well." 

There will also be a constant necessity in your 

experience for what I would call a special faith. To 

explain my meaning, let me imagine a young man 

dependent upon his father. They live together in 

perfect harmony. The father freely and lovingly 

furnishes an ample supply for his son's necessities, 

and the son in return is affectionate, confiding and 
7 



74 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

obedient. He has an unshaken confidence in his 
father's love and ability. Therefore his mind is 
untroubled on the question of his earthly subsistence. 

But one day, the young man perceives a very fine 
opening for himself in business. To enter it, he 
needs a particular sum of money. He can only 
obtain it of his father. 

" Will my father furnish me with this money ? n 
would be a first and necessary question in his mind. 
To solicit this aid from the father, every reader can 
at once perceive, requires a special act of mental 
confidence in the youth. He might doubt his father's 
disposition to do that particular favor \ without being 
at all shaken in his established conviction of that 
father's love. To solicit it, he must have a special 
and peculiar belief that he will do that particular 
favor. 

So with your faith* While you maintain an 
abiding belief that God for Christ's sake accepts you 
now ; and that Christ as the administrator of the 
universe is ruling all terrestrial things for your final 
profit ; you will also require a special faith, for 



THE OPERATIONS OF FAITH. 75 

victory over the peculiar temptations of the world, 
the flesh, and the devil. 

Hence, when Paul exhorted believers to lay aside 
every weight, and the sin which so easily beset them, 
&c, he bade them attempt these things, " Looking 
unto Jesus : " i. e., by exercising an especial faith in 
him. His own exercises for the removal of that 
troublesome " thorn in the flesh" will illustrate this 
point. He had a saving faith when the thorn came. 
Feeling it to trouble him, he sought God thrice, in 
believing prayer, to remove it. God heard that 
request, and answered it too, but not as Paul 
expected. He said in effect, " I cannot take it 
away : it is for your profit ; but my grace is 
sufficient for thee." Now when Paul felt this thorn 
piercing him, he would require a special faith, in 
addition to that which joined him to Christ ; or rather 
that faith which saved him would require an especial 
direction. It must believe that this identical affliction 
was permitted in love, and that the grace of Christ 
would enable him to bear it. 

So the young Christian will need to give an 



76 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

especial direction to his faith. Does he feel the 
spirit of a wicked world stealing into his soul ? He 
must cast himself on Christ and believe that in 
answer to Christ's mediation, he is endowed with 
power to overcome it ; and he will, like Lazarus 
escaping from the bonds of the grave, rise delivered 
from the world's power. Does he feel a besetting 
sin, say pride, or envy, or anger, pushing at him 
sorely ? He must believe that for Christ's sake the 
Spirit gives him power over it, and he will find that 
sin instantly under his feet. And so of any sin, or 
temptation ; a vigorous faith in Christ for present vic- 
tory will always overcome it. Any grace or blessing 
promised will also be certainly obtained when faith 
undoubtingly pleads the promise which contains it. 

You will, without doubt, often hear professing 
Christians complain that they do not realize these 
scriptural fruits of faith. They will not affirm that 
no one does — that Scripture promises are false. But 
they believe, and yet do not experience power to 
overcome their sins. 



THE OPERATIONS OF FAITH. 77 

I will illustrate their case and at the same time 
guard you against a dreadful evil. 

Stella is a member of the visible church. She 
was, when in her first love, eminently devoted to 
Christ ; and, as a consequence, enjoyed great peace. 
But by neglecting a strict and earnest observance of 
the duty of secret prayer, her love declined. At 
that crisis in her religious experience it became fash- 
ionable, in her neighborhood, for the ladies to wear 
very large cameo brooches. Stella was induced to 
purchase one. 

The first Sabbath on which she wore it, a pungent 
discourse from the preacher aroused her lukewarm 
heart, and she resolved to begin her spiritual life 
anew. Accordingly, she entered her closet to com- 
mune with God. Dropping upon her knees, she 
looked upwards and began to breathe forth her con- 
fessions to her heavenly Father. As her heart 
warmed, she endeavored to exercise faith and to be 
once more in delightful confidence at the feet of her 
Savior. But in that moment her conscience sug- 
gested that the useless cameo brooch ought to be 



78 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

given up ; that it was only worn to gratify pride, and 
therefore her Savior could not smile upon her, if she 
retained it. The issue was made very plain to her 
mind. She saw that to cast herself on Christ without 
yielding up the ornament would be daring pre- 
sumption. 

What did Stella do ? She did not in so many 
words say, " I will not give it up ; " but she ceased 
struggling for acceptance, offered a few more lan- 
guid petitions and rose from her knees conscious of 
having increased the distance between her soul and 
Christ. She was inwardly resolved to wear the 
beloved ornament — the outward indication of inward 
lukewarmness. 

The case of Stella is a picture of very many 
minds. Hundreds of professing Christians try in 
vain to exercise faith because a fleshly lust, a 
worldly love, a besetting sin, or a popular habit, has 
enthroned itself in the heart. Faith, in such cases, 
is an impossibility. Yea, the very effort to exercise 
it, while the idol is reserved, is a bold insult to God. 
Beware, young disciples, how you fall into this sin. 



THE OPERATIONS OF FAITH. 79 

Write it on your heart with a pen of iron, that all sin 
must be brought as a sacrifice devoted to destruction, 
whenever you draw near to God. Say, with David, 
" If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not 
hear me." 

Faith is called " The substance of things hoped for , 
the evidence of things not seen ; " that is, by faith we 
confidently expect to enjoy the eternal blessings for 
which we hope, and feel an assured conviction of the 
existence of spiritual and unseen things. 

Hence it is an important part of the operation of 
faith to surround the mind with vivid images of 
spiritual and eternal things. The mind, through such 
a faith, will apprehend eternity as a reality, not as a 
mere fancy — as a glorious substance, not as a fitful 
shadow. Faith must see Jesus standing at the right 
hand of God ; it must behold its mansion prepared 
and ready ; its robe and crown " laid up." It must 
listen to the song of the redeemed, and bring the 
whole scene, as far as revealed, so close to the mind 
as to be conscious of only a slight veil between itself 
and glory. Every revealed fact must become living 



80 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

and real to the mind — as visible and tangible to the 
eye and ear of faith as terrestrial things are to the 
senses of the body. 

Think not, young Christian, that such a realization 
of spiritual things is impossible. Elisha's faith saw 
the angels of God keeping faithful watch around him 
in their fire chariots. Stephen, the first of the noble 
army of Christian martyrs, could exclaim : " Behold, 
I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man stand- 
ing at the' right hand of God." Glorious vision ! 
Would that it were ever present to the faith of the 
modern church. 

When the world of glory is thus realized by faith , 
the believer is wonderfully stimulated and sustained 
in fighting the battles of salvation. He can keep this 
world under his feet, because he sees a better within 
his reach. He can resist temptation, because he is 
conscious of his Savior's presence. He can feel 
raptures of love, because the lover of his soul is ever 
visible in all his transcendent loveliness. He can 
maintain a habit of prayer, because he is sure that 
his petitions are welcome in the court of heaven. O, 



THE OPERATIONS OF FAIXH. 81 

it is a blessed and profitable thing to realize eter- 
nity ! 

But let me assure you, young disciple, that this 
operation of faith is not gained without effort. Years 
of worldly living have habituated you to a life of 
sight. Your mind has been a camera olscura on 
which none but sensible images have been painted. 
This habit is hard to be overcome. Sensible things 
surround you. They easily affect you. They make 
strong appeals for your undivided attentions. 

Effort then, I repeat, is needful. You must have 
seasons for silent meditation. You must read what 
is revealed concerning eternity, and let your mind 
dwell on the statements of the bible until they are 
felt to be realities. Let the bible lead your mind to 
heaven. Place yourself among its splendors and 
glories. Yield yourself up to the emotions which 
they excite. Study them, until your soul flutters its 
wings as if ready for its instant flight, and, while yet 
in the body, inspires the spirit of its future home. 
D.o this, and when you go forth to busy life, carry 
these images with you. Speak of them to your 



82 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

religious friends, and you will learn to say hab- 
itually — 

a There is ray house and portion fair j 
My treasure and my heart are there, 

And my abiding home ; 
For me, my elder brethren stay, 
And angels beckon me away, 

And Jesus bids me come." 



CHAPTEE VI. 

THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 

^2§B^ OES God make known to a Christian, and 
<^f|w especially to a young Christian, the fact of 
his acceptance and pardon by a direct communica- 
tion to his mind ? 

This is a solemn and momentous question. The 
young disciple should approach it prayerfully, in the 
spirit of a little child ; earnestly, that he may know 
the truth as it is in Jesus. He should study it practi- 
cally ; for if the Spirit directly assures the child of 
God of his adoption, then is he no child of God who 
does not possess that inward witness. He is yet a 
stranger to the privileges of sonship and should be- 
stir himself lest, being without the favor of God, he 

should perish everlastingly. 

83 



84 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

Let me draw an imaginary picture from which to 
elicit an important truth. 

An absolute monarch has a dissolute son. He en- 
dures the follies of this thoughtless prince for several 
years. He expostulates, pleads and censures in vain. 
The prince increases in violence. At last he public- 
ly insults his father. For this crowning offence, he 
is disinherited and sentenced to perpetual banishment. 
Disowned, exiled, no longer a prince, he is driven 
beyond the confines of his father's empire, and 
leads a wandering, unhappy life. 

But though disowned, he is still beloved. The 
father is stronger than the monarch. His heart 
yearns after his lost son. His prayers go up for his 
safety, and for his restoration to virtue. It is plain 
to the whole court, that however just and necessary 
the punishment of the prince, the father is a great, 
perhaps the greater sufferer. 

At last the cup of the old king's affection runs 
over. His full heart must burst or find relief. He 
yields to love. He writes and sends his son a letter, 
full of pity, blotted with tears of regret for the 



THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 85 

Prince's folly, and offering him free restoration to his 
home and privileges, on condition of a hearty re- 
pentance, a frank confession, and a genuine amend- 
ment of life. 

This letter, so touching in its language, betraying 
so clearly the bitter anguish of his father's soul, 
arouses the wandering prince to a conviction of his 
wickedness. He too weeps hot tears over the letter. 
He repents. He amends his life. He sends a reply, 
frankly acknowledging his guilt and soliciting his 
father's pardon with permission to return home. 

There is no doubt that such a confession would 
greatly relieve the feelings of this unhappy prince. 
But, if he received no reply could he be happy ? 
The silence of his father would be torture to his 
heart. Dreadful anxiety would gnaw his spirit as 
with a serpent's tooth. True, the letter promised 
forgiveness, with restoration to home and privileges, 
on certain conditions. True, these conditions have 
been fulfilled. But a token — an evidence — a proof 
— that his father is satisfied and has forgiven him 



86 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

is necessary to make him happy and to induce his 
return to his long lost home. Without this, the 
pledge of the letter would be insufficient. 

Now, in at least two particulars, this illustration 
exhibits the relation of a sinner to God. He is a 
child disinherited, cast off for his wickedness, under 
fearful sentence of perpetual banishment from his 
father's house and honors. 2. His divine Father 
has sent him proposals of reconciliation through Je- 
sus Christ, on certain conditions specified in the 
Bible. 

When those offers of compassion are brought 
home to a sinner's soul ; when Love has broken his 
heart ; and seeing his guilt, his ruin and his wretch- 
edness, the poor penitent weeps bitter tears and 
breathes forth his humble confessions, does he not 
require some token or evidence that his offended 
father is satisfied, and has really pronounced him for- 
given and adopted ? Will there not be a deep, ago- 
nizing, yearning of the soul to know what Jehovah 
has actually done in his behalf ? And is it not pre- 



THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 87 

sumable that the God of Love has provided some 
agent, through whom he will send the blessed intelli- 
gence ? 

Some will tell you that the only witness, by whom 
you may know your adoption, is the Word of God. 
They will say that " The whole of His (the Holy 
Spirit) witness, consists in rilling, affecting and influ- 
encing our spirit, with the sweet persuasion that it is 
the ' truth of God,' that we are warranted to believe 
ourselves the children of God, because all our faith is 
in the Son of God." * 

The objection to this view, is, that it does not go 
far enough. As far as it goes it is true. The Spirit 
does fill, affect and influence the heart of a penitent 
to believe, or to feel a sweet persuasion that the word 
of God warrants him to believe that he is a child of 
God, because he has faith ; but when the soul feels 
that persuasion, and actually rests itself on Christ and 
his promises for acceptance — yea, when in accord- 
ance with the truth of God, it believes itself ac- 
cepted and adopted, does the Spirit make no further 

* Robert Phillip — Guide to the Perplexed. 



88 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

communication ? Is there no sweet persuasion, 
wrought in the heart, that God has really adopted 
him ? Is the solemn act of God, by which he 
changes the relation of a sinner from alienation and 
banishment to sonship and restoration, left to be a 
matter of mere inference from the Bible ? 0, no ! 
Blessed be God, it is not so left ! for in the moment 
that the sinner rests on Christ, and consequently be- 
comes a son of God, then, as saith the apostle : 
" Because ye are sons, God liath sent forth the Spirit 
of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father" 

Let me refer you again, to the case of the banished 
prince. I left him in a state of penitence, waiting 
for a reply to his sorrowful confession of guilt, 
Though submissive to his father's wishes, and confi 
dent of his father's veracity, yet doubtful of himself, 
he is tortured with a fear, lest, in his father's judg' 
ment, the conditions of restoration are not fulfilled 
He longs, ardently and painfully, for an assurance 
of pardon from his father. 

At length, let us suppose, one of the highest dig- 
nitaries of his father's court arrives. With words of 



THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 89 

friendship, he assures him that his father has forgiv- 
en him ; that he invites his return ; that he has sent 
him royal apparal and precious things, as a proof and 
pledge of his reconciliation. This witness, coming 
directly from his parent, and agreeing in his testimo- 
ny with the pledge contained in the letter, would af- 
ford the prince perfect satisfaction. His doubts 
would cease. His fears would vanish away. With 
a joy hitherto unfelt, he would rejoice over his res- 
tored and happy condition. 

And since a similar testimony to that act of Jeho- 
vah, whereby a poor alienated heir of hell is made 
an heir of God, is necessary to his comfort and satis- 
faction ; God, in his infinite condescension, has ap- 
pointed the Holy Spirit to be " The Witness of 
Adoption " to the hearts of believers. Having 
wrought a persuasion of the truth of God in their 
hearts, and made them feel their lost and exposed 
state, he has next persuaded them that they may safe- 
ly trust in Christ ; led by his delightful guidance, 
they have trusted in Christ, assured that the prom- 
ise of pardon would then be kept. The promise was 



90 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

kept. God forgave them, and declared them his 
children ; then they received the Spirit of adoption, 
whereby they cried, " Abba, Father ; " for says the 
apostle : " The Spirit itself beareth witness with our 
spirit, that we are the children of God." 

Hence, if you are a true convert, my dear reader, 
you have felt and do now feel, " a satisfactory and 
joyful persuasion, produced by the Holy Ghost, in 
your mind, that you are now a child of God."* 
You have " an inward impression on your soul, 
whereby the Spirit of God immediately and directly 
witnesses to your spirit that you are a child of God ; 
that Jesus Christ hath loved you, and given himself 
for you ; that all your sins are blotted out, and you 
are reconciled to God." f 

How is this persuasion wrought, and how does it 
come into the heart ? Truly, I cannot tell. The 
mode of the Holy Spirit's operation is a secret which 
human wisdom cannot explore. Christ compared it 
to the mysterious winds. " The wind" said he, 

* See Walton, on the Witness of the Spirit. 
fJohn Wesley. 



THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 91 

" bloioeth where it Usteth. Ye hear the sound thereof, 
but canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it go- 
eth ; so is every one that is lorn of the Spirit." 

But does the Spirit testify to our adoption by an 
outward voice ? " No, nor always by an inward 
voice, although he may do this sometimes, Neither 
do I suppose, that he always applies to the heart, 
(though he often may,) one or more texts of Scrip- 
ture. But he so works upon the soul by his immedi- 
ate influence, and by a strong, though inexplicable 
operation, that the stormy wind and troubled waves 
subside, and there is a sweet calm ; the heart resting 
as in the arms of Jesus, and the sinner being clearly 
satisfied that God is reconciled, that all his iniquities 
are forgiven, and his sins covered. " * 

The convert should, however, be cautious not to 
judge himself by the standard of any individual ex- 
perience of this blessed witness. He may hear some 
believers speak, in the strongest terms, and in the most 
confident manner, of the distinctness of the Spirit's 
testimony. His own experience may be less com- 

* Wesley. 



92 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

forting, and the testimony of " the Witness " more 
doubtful. He may therefore conclude himself a 
stranger to its enjoyment. This would be rash and 
dangerous. The young Christian should remember, 
that, as there are wide degrees between the lowest 
whispers of the breeze and the loudest tumults of 
the storm, so there are wide differences in the dis- 
tinctness with which the blessed testimony is heard 
by believers. To some, it is soft as the lowest whis- 
per of the harp, to others it is as the voice of the 
storm — distinct, to the exclusion of all doubt. 
" One man," says Walton, " may possess a more 
joyous and permanent testimony of his acceptance, 
than his Christian brother. There is often some- 
thing in the character of the individual mind which 
has great influence. 

" There may be, even in the experience of the 
same individual, very considerable diversity ; as all 
experience shows. There may be times of brighter 
and less clear manifestations of the love of God. 
In certain cases, that bright unclouded light, which 
breaks often suddenly upon the mind of the anxious 



THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 93 

penitent, and for a time banishes every doubt, every 
fear, may suffer a very painful obscuration. There 
may be reasons, partially known and partially con- 
cealed, why it diminishes in its clearness, declining 
gradually, till, like the last ray of twilight when the 
dying day expires, it totally disappears. On the other 
hand, where the communication of the Holy Spirit's 
witness is gradual and imperceptible, (a case not 
altogether unknown, though of rare occurrence,) the 
first faint ray of the morning may illustrate the earli- 
est commencement of the inward testimony ; and 
the gradual increase of light, still advancing, till it ar- 
rives at the meridian hour of perfect illumination, may 
represent the progress of the soul toward the full as- 
surance of faith. Between these two points, however, 
of total darkness on the one hand, and of meridian 
brightness on the other hand, as many intermediate de- 
grees may probably exist in the Scriptural experience 
of a Christian, as in the illumination of the natural 
world." * 

Let me entreat you, young Christian, to try your- 
self on this great gospel doctrine. If you are truly 

* See Walton on the Witness of the Spirit. 



94 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

a child of God, you 'have the witness in yourself. Do 
not shrink from a trial of heart by this test. If you 
are not truly God's, it is better to know it now, than 
to defer the discovery until the day of judgment. 
To-day, the defect may be remedied ; then, it will 
be irreparable. Come, then, dear reader, and search 
your heart ! Has it ever thrown itself on Jesus in the 
sweet reliance of faith, and there felt itself moved to 
cry, " Abba, Father ! " If so, blessed art thou lamb 
of the flock ! Cherish that witnessing Spirit. Part 
with any thing else ! You may retain it always. If 
you should lose it, seek it earnestly again. Dare not 
sleep without its presence. Let it be a sacred point 
with you, never to pass a day without knowing 
yourself an adopted child of God. Thus, will your 
days pass in pleasure, and your end will be glorious. 

" May I not be deceived ? Is it not a possible 
thing to imagine myself a possessor of this witness, 
while I am really a child of perdition ? " 

Yes, most certainly, such deception is possible, 
but it is by no means necessary. God has joined it 
to another witness ; even that of your own spirit 



THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 95 

Where the spirit of adoption exists, there is also an 
inward experience from which our own minds are 
enabled to infer the filial relation we sustain. When 
these two things are united, deception is impossible. 

What is the nature of that inward experience ? 
Study the following picture and you will understand. 
Behold that man under sentence of death ! 
How pale and sad his countenance ! How wild and 
distracted his gaze ! What a storm rages in his soul ! 
How terrible the forebodings of his spirit ! What 
heart-agony and distress heave his bosom. He is 
disconsolate and inconsolable. 

A messenger opens the door of his cell. Standing 
on the threshold, he exclaims, " You are a prison- 
er no longer. The governor has pardoned you. 
Here is an order for your dismission from prison." 

How sudden and how great is the change which 
now comes over the spirit and the person of the crim- 
inal. As when the dark waves of Galilee ceased 
their tumultuous roaring and sunk down into the qui- 
etude of a calm sleep at the bidding of Jesus Christ, so 
his excited and terrified soul is soothed and hushed to 



96 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

peace. The storm is silenced ; his fears are hushed : 
his breast grows calmly peaceful ; joy swells his 
heart, and a burning gratitude to the friends who 
procured his pardon rises in his soul. 

As the condition of the sinner, to whom the spirit 
of adoption comes, is similar to that of the criminal, in 
that he is also delivered from a sentence of condemna- 
tion, it might be expected that similar results would 
take place in his mind. Accordingly, we find the 
apostle describing the fruits of the Spirit to be " Love^ 
joy , peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 
meekness, temperance ; " and he adds, " they that are 
Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections 
and lusts." 

Hence, if the persuasion of your acceptance in 
Christ, was followed by these fruits of the Spirit, then 
is it impossible for you to be mistaken concerning the 
genuineness of that " Witness." Deceived you can- 
not be, for no impression of the imagination could 
have brought forth these hallowed fruits. 

How shall I .know that these fruits exist in my 
heart ? 



THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT 97 

Just as you know any operation of your own mind. 
By consciousness. Cannot you decide whether you 
ever underwent a transition from alarm to peace, 
from terror to joy, from fear to love ? Have you 
never felt what the prophet so well expressed, 
" Though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is 
turned away, and thou comfortest me ? " Have you 
not felt conscious that God regarded you with com- 
placency and not with wrath ? Has not your heart 
delighted in him, with the delights of love ? As you 
admire, rejoice over, commune with, and serve your 
human friends, have you not, in the same manner 
admired, rejoiced and communed with God ? Has 
not joy swelled your heart, when you have thought 
of God's goodness ? Have you not found pleasure 
in God's worship, in the society of his dear followers, 
and in doing his holy will ? If so, and surely these 
things have been found in your experience, you may 
say with the beloved disciple : " Hereby know we that 
we dwell in him and he in us, because he hath given 
us of his Spirit ; " and again, " we know that we have 

passed from death unto life, because we love the breth- 
9 



98 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

ren i. e, : " finding these fruits of the spirit in myself, 
I know that the Holy Spirit dwells in me and is 
thereby the author of that sweet persuasion that God 
is my father, which I find in my heart, and by which 
I exclaim : 

" My God is reconciled, 

His pardoning voice I hear | 
He owns me for his child, 

I can no longer fear ; 
With confidence I now draw nigh. 
And Father, Abba, Father, cry. 

And now, before closing this chapter, young Chris- 
tian, permit me to write one sentence more, deeply 
on your heart. The wilful commission of known sin 
silences the witnessing voice of the Spirit, and ex- 
cludes from the filial relation : while habitual indul- 
gence in any one sin, whatever may be the raptures 
or emotions of the heart, is a demonstration that you 
are not now a child of God ! 

Behold yonder boy ! He is an orphan. Left to 
himself he has become idle and dissipated. Bad 
company has corrupted his morals. He is in the 
high road to ruin. 



THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 99 

But see ! A benevolent looking man approaches 
him. Gently he lays his hand upon the boy's 
shoulder. " Child," he says, " where are your 
parents ? " 

" Dead ! " he replies, softly, for he is touched 
with the old man's kind manner. 

" Where is your home ? " 

" I have no home ! " 

" Poor child ! Will you be my son ? " 

" I don't know." 

" I will take you home and adopt you for my own 
son, if you will do one thing." 

" What is that ? " 

" I heard you use profane words, just now. If you 
will leave off swearing, I will adopt you." 

" I will." 

" Remember, if you swear at all, I shall send you 
from my house, and you will cease to be my child." 

u Yes, sir, I will remember." 

The boy is now the adopted son of a gentleman. 
Clothed suitably to his station, educated, refined, he 
is scarcely to be recognized as the same lad. 



100 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

Let a brief space of time pass away in your im- 
agination. The boy is playing in the street ; his 
kind patron is passing; when, to his astonishment, 
he hears the boy utter the most fearful oaths. He 
utters them, too, with his eyes upon his patron, and 
with a look which show T s that he is conscious of the 
forfeiture he makes by his profanity. Day after 
day passes, and the boy continues to violate the con- 
ditions of his adoption. 

Can he, under these circumstances, remain the 
adopted son of his benefactor ? Impossible. 

In one particular the Christian resembles this boy. 
When his Heavenly Father adopts him, although it 
is for Jesus' sake, yet it is on one condition, viz : 
that he leaves off sinning ! or, as St. Paul says : that 
he " walk not after the flesh, hut after the Spirit ! " 
Whenever, therefore, a believer commits a wilful 
sin, he must cease to be a child of God ; whenever a 
sin obtains a permanent conquest in a man, and rules 
over him as a tyrant, that man is any thing but a 
" man in Christ" 



THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 101 

How clear and explicit is the apostle John, on this 
vital point : " Wliosoever dbideth in him sinneth not. 
He that committeth sin is of the Devil. Whosoever 
is horn of God doth not commit sin. In this the 
children of God are manifest, and the children of 
the Devil. Whosoever doeth not righteousness is not 
of God, neither he that loveth not his brother." 

This testimony is both authoritative and conclusive. 
Sin consciously indulged, destroys our filial relation 
to God; and he who is under the servitude of a 
single sin and yet fancies himself to possess the 
" Witness of the Spirit" is miserably deceived. 

See to it, therefore, young convert, that sin does 
not have dominion over you. If anger, lust, covet- 
ousness, hatred, idleness, or any other sin, has a throne 
in your heart ; if it sway a tyrant's scepter over 
you ; if you are under its dominion, be assured that 
you are the servant of sin and not the servant of 
God. " His servants ye are, to whom ye yield your- 
selves servants to obey," said Jesus Christ. So that, 
as you cannot serve two masters, if you are the 



102 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

servant of sin you cannot be the servant of Jesus 
Christ. 

I do not mean by these remarks, however, that the 
adopted " heir of God " feels no " motions of sin " 
in his heart. No doubt every child of God often 
feels the deep strivings of the carnal mind. Power- 
ful promptings to sin ; fearful kindlings of the car- 
nal and fleshly sparks, are familiar things in Christian 
experience. The flesh lusting against the Spirit, and 
the Spirit striving against the flesh, keep up a daily 
strife in the believer's bosom. But the evidence of 
his faith is, that the Spirit overcomes the flesh. Hu- 
man weakness tremblingly asks, " Who shall deliver 
me from the body of this death ? " Christian faith 
replies, "I thank God through Jesus Christ our 
Lord." 

Rejoice, then, young believer, in the witness and 
in the power of the Holy Spirit. While you feel in 
your heart, the fond emotions of love to God, the 
quiet peace of faith, and the power to subdue your 
rebellious nature, rejoice in the reality of the work 
of God. The persuasion of your sonship, yielding 



THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 103 

these glorious fruits, is and must be from the Lord. 
Your corrupt nature, enthusiasm,. Satan, or mistaken 
friends, might lead you to an imaginary experience, 
but they could not produce the "fruits of the 
Spirit" These, you are conscious of possessing ; 
you have also the inward persuasion in your heart 
of your adoption. The Spirit witnessing with your 
spirit. Taken together, these witnesses are infalli- 
ble : therefore, I say, rejoice in your sonship. Cast 
away doubt and dismay. Throw all servile fear to 
the winds. Be strong. Yea, be strong in thy 
divine confidence ; and he, who has begun the 
good work, will most assuredly keep thee to the end. 
Say, with the poet — 

" In my Savior's intercession, 
Therefore I will still confide, 
Lord accept my free confession I 

I have sinned, but thou hast died : 
This is all I have to plead, 
This is all the plea I need." 



CHAPTER VII. 



TEMPTATION. 



®3|1| HE world is justly called " a vale of tears." It 
^Wl is so to the true Christian, as well as to the sinner. 
Sorrow is the inalienable heritage of human nature. 
Grace may open a well of life in the converted 
heart ; but the fountains of grief will be there also. 
Paradoxical as it may seem, a Christian is both " a 
man of sorrows " and a man of rare enjoyment. He 
fully illustrates the saying of his endeared Master : 
" These words I have spoken unto you, that in me ye 
might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribu- 
lation ; " he also realizes that, 

" The path of sorrow, and that path alone, 
Leads to the land where sorrow is unknown. 

104 



TEMPTATION. 105 

No traveller ere reached that blest abode, 

Who found not thorns and briers in his road. 

The world may dance along the flowery plain, 

Cheered as they go by many a sprightly strain — 

Where nature has her mossy velvet spread, 

With unshod feet they yet securely tread. 

But he who knew what human hearts would prove, 

How slow to learn the dictates of his love j 

That hard by nature and of stubborn will, 

A life of ease would make them harder still. 

In pity to the sinners he designed, 

To rescue from the ;ruins of mankind, 

Galled for a cloud to darken all their years, 

And said, " Go, spend them in the vale of tears." 

Among the sources of Christian affliction, tempta- 
tion holds a high rank. Will the reader permit me 
to introduce the subject of temptation, by sketching a 
picture of real life ? 

Yonder is a well dressed youth stepping down the 
steps of a merchant's office. He is an articled clerk, 
the son of wise and pious parents ; modesty and good 
sense are apparent in his mien. His appearance 
prepossesses the spectator in his favor. 

But see, he meets a grave old man in the street. 
They shake hands and greet each other most hearti- 



106 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

ly, That old gentleman is his uncle. Let us listen 
to a part of their conversation. 

" Edward, have you a watch ? " inquired the 
uncle. 

" No, Sir." 

" Should you like to own one ? " 

" Yes, uncle, very much indeed." 

" I have thought for some time of giving you 
one. Let us step into this store and make a selec- 
tion." 

They enter a store. The watch is purchased. 
Edward, full of thankfulness and gratified feeling, 
bids his uncle adieu, and runs home to publish his 
good fortune to his family. 

The watch is exhibited to father, mother, and all 
the little ones. Young George, and laughing Ellen, 
have had it held to their ears at least a half dozen 
times to hear it tick, and Edward's present is the 
theme of family conversation at the dinner ta- 
ble. Edward was never so much gratified be- 
fore. 

Dinner is over. Edward is about to return to his 



TEMPTATION. 107 

office. His father, in a weighty tone of voice, 
says, 

" Edward ! " 

" Yes, Father." 

" I want you to give your new watch to your 
brother William. As your Father, I assure you that 
in the end you will not regret it. Remember, I do 
not compel it. Do as you please." 

Edward looks surprised. He grows red and pale 
by turns. A violent conflict passes in his mind. 
But the struggle is soon over ; with a swelling heart 
and tearful eye, he gives the watch to his brother. 

In a few days, his father presents him with a 
watch, more beautiful and costly than his first one. 
What he values still more, is, the commendation he 
receives for having so willingly obeyed, and so cheer- 
fully trusted his father's word. 

But this is not the only trial Edward encounters. 
He has a fellow clerk, who is a gay, dissipated youth. 
He has often spoken to his companions of Edward's 
quiet habits. Together, they resolve to seduce him 
into their own vile haunts and sinful habits. 



108 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

" Edward, will you walk with me this evening ? " 
asks his fellow clerk. 

" I have no objection." 

They walk together. As his seducers have before 
arranged, they meet the clerks at a corner of >the 
street. Edward is introduced. They shew him 
great attentions ; their conversation is sparkling 
and enchanting. Edward is fascinated. At night 
he retires with a favorable opinion of his new asso- 
ciates. 

After a few nights, he receives a ticket for a con- 
cert from his office companion, with a pressing invi- 
tation. " It is to be decidedly moral, highly respecta- 
ble," says his false friend. He assents. Goes to the 
concert, and is still more delighted with the young 
clerk and his party. 

He is now a frequent companion of those gay 
youths. True, they grow less reserved, and utter 
things he is not pleased to hear. But, they are so 
fascinating, he is charmed, and their faults are over- 
looked. 

The young sinners grow impatient to throw off 



TEMPTATION. 109 

the mask and gain the unsuspecting Edward to 
their vices. They resolve on a bold stroke. He is 
to be taken to a theatre, under the impression that 
he is going to another concert. 

The invitation is given and accepted. Edward 
joins the party and they proceed directly toward the 
play house, engaged in a most lively and spirited 
conversation. They are on the threshold. Edward 
pauses. " This is the Theatre ! " 

" Yes, but there is a grand concert to be perform- 
ed here to-night." 

Silenced, but not satisfied, Edward proceeds. He 
soon finds himself in one of the boxes. He feels 
uneasy and is silent. Soon the curtain rises. The 
actors tread the stage. He finds himself duped. 
With a wonderful resolution he takes his hat, darts a 
look of displeasure at his betrayers, and, in spite of 
their whispered entreaties for him to remain, hurried- 
ly quits the enchanted spot. The spell is broken 
now. The object of his gay friends is clearly 
revealed to his mind. He rejoices in his escape and 
resolves to avoid them in the future. 



110 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

In this picture the reader has seen Edward sub- 
jected to two kinds of trial ; but the agents in these 
trials of his principles had precisely opposite ends 
in view. His father tried him that he might have 
opportunity to exhibit his obedience and his confi- 
dence ; and thereby be personally benefited ; the 
young men tried him, that they might destroy him. 

These temptations of young Edward illustrate 
the two classes of temptations, the young convert 
must make his mind up to contend with in his Christian 
experience. He will be tempted for the trial of his 
faith : he will be tempted to evil and to death. God 
will be the agent of the former class of trials, or 
temptations : Satan, men, the world, and his carnal 
nature, will be the agents in the latter class. 

It is said, that " God did tempt Abraham" That 
temptation was a command to put Isaac to death, to 
offer him as a burnt offering to the Lord. The 
object of Jehovah in this temptation was to obtain an 
exhibition of Abraham's confidence in His word ; not 
to lead Abraham astray. Properly speaking, it was 
a trial of his faith. Such trials are wholesome dis 



TEMPTATION. Ill 

cipline which our Heavenly Father sees necessary to 
administer for our profit. The convert must there- 
fore make up his mind to expect them. He must 
not be uneasy under them, but he must wrestle to 
shew forth his faith, his submission, and his love to 
God, that " his faith might he found unto praise and 
honor, and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ" 

But when we are solicited to evil, we must not re- 
gard Jehovah as the agent of our temptation. " Let 
no man say when he is tempted (i. e., to evil,) I am 
tempted of God ; for God cannot he tempted with 
evil ; neither tempteth he any man, (i. e., to evil.) 

The chief agent in tempting Christians is the De- 
vil. " Your adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion 
goeth about seeking whom he may devour" Tempting 
the pious into sin, is the Devil's business. All his 
knowledge, skill and cunning are brought into dili- 
gent use, to accomplish the destruction of Christ's 
little ones. He is a wary fowler spreading his nets 
in every field, and hiding his snares under every 
green tree. Wherever the seed of life is dropped, 
these he is laboring, with infernal energy, to prevent 



112 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

its germination ; for, said Christ : " Then comeih 
the Devil and taketh the word out of their hearts ; 
lest they should believe and he saved." 

You will often find the assaults of Satan very 
painful to endure. While in the Wartburg, the cele- 
brated Luther endured the bitterest agony from the 
fiery darts of the adversary. Dr. Pay son suffered 
intensely from temptations to infidelity. Objections 
to the word of God, such as infidels had never im- 
agined, were thrust into his mind, and at times 
wrought up his pure mind into a state of torture. 
And all good and holy men have been familiar with 
the devices of this lost and fallen angel. 

Should you, then, young convert, when on your 
knees endeavoring to commune with God, or when 
drawing near to the communion table, or when list- 
ening to the preached word, be conscious of blasphe- 
mous thoughts, hard thoughts of God and his Provi- 
dences, strong fears, despairing views of yourself, 
impure imaginations, sudden inclinations to suspect 
the faithfulness of your friends and companions, 
and should these suggestions work your spirit up 



TEMPTATION. 113 

to fear and agony, you may know yourself to be 
assaulted by the Evil One. You must not yield to 
them, and say, " I am no Christian. True Chris- 
tians do not feel as I do." On your peril yield not 
so far to your great enemy. To concede your faith, 
because you are tempted, is to throw away your sal- 
vation merely to please your worst foe. 

But Satan will tempt you indirectly as well as 
directly. Your nature has various propensities, such 
as hope, fear, acquisitiveness, anger and the like. 
These propensities have their appropriate excitants. 
Danger excites fear ; gold excites covetousness ; con- 
tempt kindles anger. To bring these excitants into 
combination with the propensities, is the way to 
arouse them : just as the spark kindles the tinder, or 
friction lights the match. 

If you are inclined to covetousness, Satan will 
tempt you by directing your mind to schemes and 
plans for growing rich. He will stimulate your im- 
agination with golden visions, and urge you to plunge 
inextricably into worldly engagements. 

If you are poor, when you pass the dwelling of 
10 



114 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

the rich, where the bright lights stream from the 
curtained windows, and from between the folds you 
can perceive the luxurious furniture, he will prompt 
you to contrast that proud abode of wealth with your 
own humble home. With the contrast will be 
mingled a temptation to discontent and to bitter 
complainings against the Lord. 

Or, when rumors, which are ever floating upon the 
surface of society, like poisonous vapors in the air, 
bring you information of false reports concerning 
your reputation, he will tempt you to haughty feel- 
ings, to anger, malice and revenge. 

Nor are these indirect temptations the least danger- 
ous. They have been powerful to destroy millions. 
The fruit on the forbidden tree was the instrument 
of Eve's ruin and the world's distress. The mess 
of pottage beguiled Esau to surrender his birthright 
with its privileges. The vineyard of Naboth led 
Ahab to imbrue his fingers in innocent blood. The 
shekels of Naaman, the noble leper, prompted Ge- 
hazi to utter a dreadful lie. The fear of arrest and 
death in the High Priest's hall, moved Peter to the 



TEMPTATION. 115 

infamous offence of denying his Lord, with shame- 
ful oaths and bitter curses. These, with other facts 
innumerable as the leaves of the forest, darkening 
the history of our whole race, prove the terrible pow- 
er of indirect temptation. 

Beside Satan, you will have still other tempters. 
Your fellow creatures will use their influence for 
your ruin. The wicked will endeavor to make you 
as vile as themselves. Without designing it, your 
own friends ; yea, your bosom companion and the 
familiar friend in whom you have trusted, will often 
be your tempters. By unkind remark, by insults, 
by neglects, by a wrong spirit, by bad example, by 
modes ever changing and various as your circum- 
stances and their dispositions. These things will 
tend to excite their corresponding passions and de- 
sires, and thus lead you to the commission of sin. 

In your own breast, too, you carry a tempter, 
perhaps the most dangerous one of all. " Every 
man" says James, " is tempted, when lie is drawn 
away of his own heart's lust and enticed." Your pro- 
pensities themselves will be powerful tempters. Not 



116 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

satisfied with the innocent indulgence permitted by 
the divine law, they will burn and clamor for unlaw- 
ful gratification. Carnal by nature, subdued, but not 
destroyed, by grace, your own heart will be your 
foe. 

Thus what our " sweet singer " penned and sung, 
you will verify in your spiritual life. You may 
say, I am 

" Surrounded by a host of foes, 

Stormed by a host of foes within, 
Nor swift to flee, nor strong to oppose, 
Single against hell, earth, and sin." 

Do you exclaim, " Woe is me, for I am undone ! " 
Does this view of your exposed state alarm you and 
extort the cry : " I shall one day fall by the hands 
of the enemy ? " If so, forbear ! for above the 
noise of your spiritual combats, the sweet voice of 
the angel, who met a trembling Mary in the garden, 
sings, " Fear not, for I know that ye seek Jesus." 
Your safety is pledged, notwithstanding the number, 
the power, the constancy and the bitterness of your 
tempters : " For God is faithful, who will not suf~ 



TEMPTATION. 117 

fer you to be tempted above vihat ye are able : but 
will with the temptation, also make a ivay to escape, 
that ye may be able to bear it. 

What are your temptations and dangers when com- 
pared with the help promised to you in this word of 
God ? It is a matter of small moment how many 
foes assail a man if he possess ample ability to resist 
them. True, you have no ability of your own ; but 
God is strong, and He promises that " You shall not 
be tempted above what ye are able." Is not this suf- 
ficient ! Will he fail you in your hour of need ? 
Can you not boldly face all your enemies with this 
assurance of help ? Martin Luther ventured into the 
yery arms of his papal adversaries at Some, at a 
time when they thirsted for his blood. The Pope 
and his emissaries were willing to pay any price for 
the great Reformer's life ; yet he boldly thrust him- 
self into their arms. Why did Luther thus ? The 
emperor had given him a safe conduct ; i. e., he had 
guarantied his safety for a specific time. Luther had 
confidence in the Emperor's truth ; while his friends 
trembled for his safety, he felt calmly secure. 



118 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

Will you have less confidence in God than Luther 
had in the German king ? The God of truth guaran- 
tees your safety under the fiercest temptations. Is 
it not enough ? Let Satan, the World, the Flesh, do 
their utmost, they cannot destroy you, they cannot 
compel you to sin. It is no sin to be tempted, for 
our spotless Jesus was " tempted in all points like 
unto us, and yet without sin" Temptation is never 
sinful until it is consented to. It is like bait thrown 
by the angler to the fish — harmless when resolutely 
avoided ; dangerous only, when the fish pauses to 
admire and to nibble. Let temptation be disregard- 
ed ; let your heart resolutely say, " No," and how- 
ever peculiar and tempting the bait, you are guiltless ; 
but pause to desire, to taste, to yield, and you be- 
come guilty. Resist, and you remain innocent. 
Lift up your prayer to Christ. Say : 

'• Still nigh me, O my Savior, stand! 

And guard in fierce temptation's hour, 
Hide in the hollow of thine hand j 

Show forth in me thy saving power, 
Still be thy arms my sure defence j 
( Nor earth, nor hell shall pluck me thence. 



TEMPTATION. 119 

Were you to enter a subterranean cavern, attend- 
ed by a guide, you might at first fearlessly follow 
his footsteps. But, as you proceeded amidst the in- 
creasing darkness, your footsteps awakening echoes 
more and more fearful, and the glare of the torch, 
carried by your guide, growing more and more mur- 
ky, a chill of horror would steal over your frame ; 
you would proceed reluctantly, probably you would 
stop and say to your guide : " Sir ! is it safe to 
proceed ? " 

Should he reply : " Perfectly so. I have conduct- 
ed scores of persons a half a mile farther than 
where we stand ; " you would be reassured. That 
others had trodden the cavern in safety would be a 
sufficient warrant of security to yourself. 

I have written this familiar illustration to save you 
from stumbling where many have fallen. Youno- 
Christians especially, are apt to conceive their temp- 
tations peculiar to themselves. They think indeed 
that such thoughts, feelings and imaginations, as 
they endure, are evidences of a graceless state. 
Could they but know that other Christians feel the 



120 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

same, their faith would strengthen, their courage 
rise, their hearts grow firm. Not knowing this, they 
write bitter things against themselves and sometimes 
" cast away their faith." 

Be assured, then, dear young Convert, that there is 
no such thing as peculiar temptation. I mean, that 
no one person has temptations which some others have 
not. However fiery the dart, it has fallen upon others 
as well as upon you. However blasphemous the sug- 
gestion, it has been made to others before. God has 
declared this. " There hath no temptation taken you 
but such as is common to man" is the divine testimo- 
ny. Courage, then, tempted one ! You explore a 
path well travelled. Millions have passed where 
you are passing ; have suffered what you suffer ; 
have endured triumphantly what you are struggling 
to endure. Consoling idea ! Your temptations are 
supportable by such as you. God has kept many, 
weak as you are, under trials of equal magnitude, 
and He promises to keep you also. Trembling one ! 
Lamb of the flock, can you ask for more ? 

Let us imagine a father with his child, compelled 



TEMPTATION. 



121 



to frequently pass a road, beside which is a chained 
lion. The child is fearful at first ; the father assures 
the little one of safety if he will walk close to his 
side. Frequent walks upon the road inspire the 
boy with confidence. His father then sends him 
alone. He pledges his honor to the child, that he 
may pass unhurt if he will keep in the middle of 
the path. For many days, he passes unharmed. 
One day, he ventures close to the lion's den and 
perishes. Is the father to blame ? Has his word 
proved false ? 

Thus, if the young Christian expects the fulfil- 
ment of the divine promise, he must follow the 
divine guidance, or he will nevertheless perish. The 
word of God says, " Watch and pray ; " it bids you 
"forsake the foolish ; " not to " walk in the counsel 
of the ungodly, or stand in the way of sinners" or, 
in other words, to avoid every place, person and 
thing, which would be likely to lead you into sin. 
The observance of these directions is indispensable 
to victory. They are the conditions of the promise. 

If neglected, the promise will fail and God's truth 
11 



122 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

remain inviolate. But resist temptation "promptly in its 
earliest beginnings ; fly to Christ in believing prayer, 
Watch. Look to Jesus under all the conditions of life, 
and your deliverance from all the snares and de- 
vices of Satan is sure. 

Fear not temptation, then, young Christian. 
Dangerous as it is, fatal as it has been to millions, 
trying as it unquestionably will be to yourself; yet, 
I repeat it, " Feo.r not" He that is on your side 
is stronger than all that is against you. The love of 
Jesus is so deep, so unchanging, it will never for- 
sake you. Whatever else fails you, the love of 
Christ will not. Whoever is false to you, Jesus will 
be " Faithful and true" Fight manfully ! Resist 
valiantly ! Put on the whole armor of God. When 
the fight is severe, remember the example of Christ, 
who suffered such terrible temptations for your sake, 
and comfort yourself with these delightful words : 
"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation ; for 
when he is tired, he shall receive the crown of life* 
which the Lord hath promised to them that love 
him. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



JOINING THE CHURCH. 



ffislpjl HERE are few scenes on earth more lovely, 
^yili than a church of the Lord Jesus in the act 
of receiving a new convert to its bosom. The hour 
has been anticipated by the candidate with fear and 
pleasure. He has trembled at the responsibility to 
be assumed ; he has rejoiced at the privileges to be 
enjoyed. After much prayer and meditation, he at 
last stands before the church. How solemn and 
weighty in his deportment*! How calm and resolv- 
ed in his feelings and purposes ! The church look 
on with prayerful interest. A new candidate for the 
prize of salvation is entering the race-course. A 

new member of the household of God is being ad- 

123 



124 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

mitted into the holy family. Glorious sight ! God 
approves it. Angels study it with pleasure. 

The minister proposes the usual questions ; which 
being duly answered by the candidate, the right 
hand of fellow ship is given ; the convert becomes a 
member of the militant church ! Auspicious mo- 
ment ! How touching and forceful the question : 
will he ever be admitted to the church triumph- 
ant ? 

Beautiful as is this scene, exalted as is the privi- 
lege it confers, yet, many converts to Christ refuse 
to share it. They choose the imminently perilous 
and almost hopeless task of going to heaven alone. 
" They fix nowhere, or at least commune nowhere. 
No church is wide enough, or strict enough, or pure 
enough, or sound enough for them ; no one is com- 
pletely modified to their taste. Constantine said to 
such a self-conceited Christian, ' Take a ladder, 
and climb to heaven by thyself.' If all were like 
minded with some, there would be no such thing 
as a church on earth." * 

*Jay's " Christian Contemplated." 



JOINING- THE CHURCH. 125 

Let us imagine a company of men setting out on 
a pilgrimage to a distant land. The country they 
are leaving is attractive and outwardly beautiful ; but 
its climate is deadly. A poisonous malaria infects 
the atmosphere ; its inhabitants are sure to fade 
away and die in the prime of life. Yet, the bewitch- 
ing beauty of its romantic scenery acts like a charm 
upon the people ; in the face of death, they remain 
and revel in its ruinous delights. They are the more 
inclined to this, because the road to a better clime is 
extremely difficult to travel — is infested with wild 
beasts, and many who attempt to cross, it return dis- 
couraged. 

Yet there is a constant emigration going on. 
Many prefer present inconvenience to final ruin. 
They choose to suffer affliction temporarily, rather 
than to die prematurely and forfeit every precious 
hope of the human breast. 

The pilgrims go in companies. It is difficult, if 
not impossible, to reach the " better land " alone. 
The solitary pilgrim is almost sure to fall a prey to 
the wild beasts, which roam that waste howling wil- 



126 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

derness. Hence the pilgrims form themselves into 
bands for their mutual safety. 

Let us fancy one of these pilgrim bands in the 
midst of the wilderness. The road is rough, hard, 
and thorny. The weak ones of the party grow dis- 
couraged, but the strong cheer them by words of 
kindness and hope. Some linger behind, but are 
urged to renew their journey by the exhortations of 
the rest. When clouds lower and the storm beats 
furiously upon them, they break forth into singing, 
and thus rouse each other's fainting spirits. At night 
they set a guard, they kindle their watch-fires to 
frighten away the beasts. By these, and similar 
means, they safely pursue their journey, and in due 
time reach the " land of promise." 

On the edge of the wilderness, in the rear of the 
pilgrim band, may be seen a few solitary travellers, 
each walking alone, apart from the beaten path. 
At night, without a guard, they pitch each man his 
tent, but not to rest. The incessant roar of the 
beasts prevents their sleep. And every morning the 
number of those tents is lessened. As the pilgrim 



JOINING THE CHURCH. 127 

band plunges deeper into the shadows of the wilder- 
ness, the lonely pilgrims diminish. The roaring 
lions devour them, or some " horrible pit " swallows 
them up. 

You cannot be at a loss, dear young convert, to un- 
derstand the meaning of my simple allegory. The 
infected country is the wicked world, a life of sin. 
The wilderness is the way from thence to glory ; 
the band of pilgrims is the " Church of the living 
God ; " the solitary pilgrims, those who profess to be 
converted, but refuse to join the church of Christ. 
The death of the lonely pilgrims is a type of the fall 
of those who do not unite with the people of God. 

Lift up your eyes, my reader, and survey the past 
history of those w T ho have been converted within the 
sphere of your acquaintance. It may be true of 
some, who joined the church, that like Demas they 
have loved the present world and forsaken Christ ; 
but most who joined the church, have a hope of heaven 
to this very day. But where are those who did not 
join the church ! Alas ! they are nearly all gone 



128 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

back, " like the sow that was washed to her wallow- 
ing in the mire." 

It is next to impossible to find a Christian with a 
satisfactory experience, who is not a member of the 
church of Christ. Most converts who fail of this 
duty, soon utterly fall away ; the remainder live in 
uncertainty and gloom of heart. With the church, 
they reject the ordinances of Christianity ; stumble 
into error and mistake ; and rarely fail of missing 
the " path to glory and immortality." 

There must be a reason for this almost universal 
falling away of those converts, who do not join the 
church. I will venture to suggest it. 

Perhaps, if I inquire after the cause of the con- 
vert's refusal to unite with the people of God, the 
reason will clearly appear. What then is the 
cause ? 

Had I a band of these independent Christians be- 
fore me, they would probably all give a different an- 
swer v One with seeming humility would say " I am 
unworthy ; " another, " I cannot fulfil the respon- 
sibilities of a church member, and would therefore 



JOINING THE CHURCH. 129 

prefer not to be one ; " a third, " there are so many 
churches all claiming to be right, I don't know which 
to choose ; " while a fourth would say, " I can live 
religiously out of the church, just as well as a great 
many do who belong to it." Such, with many more 
similar ones, would be the reasons given. 

Now, I regard all these pretended reasons as mere 
frivolities ; they are only masks to hide the true 
cause from sight. No doubt the parties are sincere 
when they offer them ; but they are self- deceived. 
Their excuses conceal, even from their own eyes, the 
actual cause of their refusal to join the church. 

What is that cause ? I answer, it is an unwilling- 
ness to submit to the yoke of Christ. Various things 
may be the occasions of this unwillingness ; such as 
the fear of opposition ; the unpopularity of the 
church ; or a dread of church restraints and the 
like, but the root of the difficulty is in a heart that 
shrinks from wearing the yoke of Christ. 

How can it be otherwise ? Let the convert aban- 
don his own will, and inquire what is the will of 
Christ, and the case is settled. Why did Christ es- 



130 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

tablish a church on earth ? Why has he dignified it 
with the title of " his body ? " Why is it called the 
" church of God ? " Why said, that " Christ loved 
the church ? " Do not these names and titles of 
endearment show the church to be of God ? And is 
not the establishment of a church on earth a suffi- 
cient declaration of his will concerning his follow- 
ers ? 

I have seen, in many places along the sea coast of 
our country, little houses erected close to the shore. 
They stand at considerable distances from the inhab- 
itants, and in the places where, in the hour of 
storm, the stranded vessel is most likely to come 
ashore. Now, when the half-drowned sailor crawls 
up the beach and discovers one of these houses, pro- ♦ 
vided with wood, matches and other materials for the 
comfort of the destitute, does he hesitate to enter ? 
Does he not understand the existence of these hu- 
mane houses to be an expression of the will and opin- 
ion of the community who placed them there ? He 
does ; and to him they speak a voiceless, but intelli- 
gible language. They say: " The people, anticipate 



JOINING THE CHURCH. 131 

ing your danger and understanding your necessity, 
if cast ashore, have built these for your use and 
help." And, accordingly, he thankfully accepts their 
shelter. 

In like manner does the divine origin of the 
church speak the will of God. The church thus 
originated, says : " God, your Savior, knew it was 
necessary for your edification, that you should be 
joined to your brethren in Christ, by visible bonds." 
He, therefore, who despises this provision for his 
salvation, despises the wisdom of God. He says, "I 
know best. True, the will of God is plain; but I 
prefer my own way." Is it wonderful that such 
persons wander away to destruction ? 

But God's will is still more directly expressed, by 
the disposition he made of the first converts to His 
gospel. " The Lord added unto the church, such as 
should be saved." Upon this passage the amiable 
Merrittsays : " Here observe, that the Lord added the 
converts to the church. Hence it was his will, that 
they should belong to the church." * 

♦Timothy Merritt's " Convort's Guide." 



132 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

Will you then, young Christian, run the fearful 
risk of losing your soul by not submitting yourself 
entirely to the will of Jesus ? Have you done some 
things, and can you be willing to leave the others 
undone ? Have you been led to the cross by the 
guiding hand of the church, and will you spurn her 
now ? Will you haughtily stand aside and say, " I will 
not mingle with the children ? " The church has 
travailed in birth for you, and nursed you — will 
you abandon your spiritual mother ? The church 
is God's visible host making open war with the ene- 
mies of Christ — will you refuse to join her ranks ? 
The church is the family of God on earth ; Jehovah 
is Father to its members, Christ their elder brother, 
the noblest hearts, the loftiest spirits of mankind, 
have felt honored to be joined to this holy household. 
Will you stand apart ? Is it nothing to be one of 
the family that claims Abraham, Moses, David, 
Isaiah, Deborah, Susannah, Paul, John, Peter, Poly- 
carp, Augustine, Luther, Cranmer, Wesley, White- 
field, Payson, Asbury, and hosts of such glorious 
spiritual heroes and heroines, for its members ? A 



JOINING THE CHURCH. 133 

family, which, even now, contains within its various 
branches nearly all the moral beauty, the worth, the 
excellency of our common nature ? From this fam- 
ily of God, will you, lamb of Jesus, stand aloof ? O, 
as you value your soul, do not be so unpardonably 
foolish ! It will be a " fight " to reach heaven in the 
church ; out of it, it will be almost a certain forfeit- 
ure of your glowing hopes. Therefore, I say again 
to thee, young convert, join the church and join it 
directly. 

The lukewarm professor will tell you to wait 
awhile. Satan will whisper the same exhortation to 
delay. " Prove yourself; see if you hold out first; 
put your new experience to the test a little longer : 
then join the church ; " will be the syren song the 
Tempter will sing in your heart. 

Heed not that song as you desire to persevere. 
Should the young lamb prefer the snow-bank in the 
chilly month of March, to the warm fold of the 
Shepherd ? Would that be the way to insure its 
own existence ? True, if it lived on the snow bank, 
it would in the fold ; but the probability is, it would die 



134 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

there. So if you maintain your piety out of the church, 
for a given period, you may be likely to retain it in 
her bosom ; but you run a fearful risk. Your piety 
in its infant state, needs all the nourishment, sympa- 
thy and restraint, that can be brought to its main- 
tenance. If there is any benefit in a church rela- 
tion, you need to enjoy it, in the beginning of your 
experience. Hasten then, my dear friend, without 
a moment's delay, to your pastor, class-leader or dea- 
con, and place yourself in the church of the Lord Je- 
sus Christ. 

Having once joined the church, you must set a 
high estimate on your church relation. Value it 
very highly. Guard your heart against that spirit 
of opposition to the church of God, whkrh is so rife 
in the land. Do not listen to reproaches against her. 
Never utter a word in her disfavor. When the ac- 
knowledged faults of church members are discuss- 
ed, look on the other side. If the church has faults, 
she has virtues also, great virtues. Her influence is 
blessed as a whole. Whatever of moral activity and 
energy there is in the various moral organizations of 



JOINING THE CHURCH. 135 

the age, is derived from the church. The wise and 
prudent laborers in all the popular reforms of the 
day received their impulses and their light through 
the church. She is like those little springs in the 
mountains, which, unperceived steal down their rocky 
beds and mingling together, form brooks and mighty 
rivers. Men are apt to forget, as they stand amazed 
at the magnificence of the great Mississippi, that 
those flowing waters owe their being to the quiet 
springs in the far distant hills. So do they forget the 
quiet, but effectual moral influence, which, perpetual- 
ly flowing out from the church, gives existence and 
support to the more noisy and imposing movements 
of the age. 

You must remember this. The church is " the pil- 
lar and ground of the truth." A relation to her is 
not to be lightly abandoned. Make your mind up, 
young Christian, both to live and die in the church. 
Some professors are constantly threatening to leave 
the church. Every trifle which happens to impede 
their footsteps becomes an occasion for saying, " We 
will leave the church." This is a bad spirit, and 



236 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

aside from the injury it inflicts on the parties them- 
selves, it effectually destroys their influence over 
others. 

Be whole-hearted in your attachment to the church. 
Enter into all her plans of benevolence. Make her 
objects yours. Resolve to make your connection a 
benefit to her. Contribute, according to your ability, 
to her maintenance. If you are poor, do something. 
Many young people, who have spent dollars 
annually for sinful pleasure, before their conversion, 
think themselves unable to contribute anything to the 
church. They will receive all the benefit of church 
arrangements, and leave others to pay the bills. 
They never stop to inquire who supports the pastor, 
or warms and lights the house. This is morally 
wrong. It is unjust to their brethren. You must 
not be guilty of such meanness, but, according to 
the ability which God hath given you, claim your 
right and privilege to sustain the institutions of 
Christ. 

You may possibly have some questionings in your 
mind concerning which branch of the church you 



JOINING THE CHURCH. 137 

had better join. If so, I will give you a principle or 
two by which to decide safely. 

Usually it is best for converts to join that church, 
where they have been led to Christ. There is a 
propriety in this step too obvious not to be perceived. 
There must be a mutual attachment, a reciprocity of 
feeling between the converts and the instruments of 
their salvation, which can exist between no others. 
Accordingly it is found by actual experience, that 
those, who after being converted in one church join 
another, are like flowers transplanted at the wrong 
season : they wither away and die. Perhaps the reason 
of this is, that the motive for such a choice is gener- 
ally wrong. It is to please sectarian relations ; to 
avoid the odium of a poor or unpopular church, to 
gain social influence ; or some other sinister purpose. 
No wonder such converts soon become apostates. 
With you, my dear reader, let the question be : 
" Where can I enjoy the best helps in the way of 
salvation, and be in the most useful sphere of 
action." This decided, join that church and set 

your face like a flint against all sinister motives. 
12 



138 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

But it may be, the creed of the church where you 
were converted is in opposition to your convictions 
of what is the truth. Then go somewhere else. To 
adopt and profess articles of faith which we do not 
believe, is hypocrisy and falsehood. A conscientious 
believer in Calvinism could not therefore consistently 
join a Methodist church ; neither could a man, be- 
lieving the doctrines of Methodism, consistently unite 
with a church which professed the dogmas of Calvin. 
There would be a palpable falsity of conduct in either 
case, which would certainly mar the happiness of 
a reflecting mind. 

Go then, dear young convert, to that branch of 
the church whose sentiments are congenial with 
your own ! Where you have been most blessed 
and can be the most useful. Be not turned aside 
from consistency, and an aim to glorify God by 
any influence whatever. Be a firm, devoted mem- 
ber of the church militant ; then, in all probability, 
you will work out your salvation, and in due season 
be admitted to the church triumphant in heaven. 




CHAPTER IX. 

ON THE FORMATION OF RELIGIOUS HABITS. 

N action constantly repeated becomes a 
habit. A habit once formed is not easily 
laid aside. Those things which are exceedingly dif- 
ficult at first, become easy when habitually prac- 
tised. 

A young lady was once playing a most difficult 
piece of music in the presence of her teacher. Her 
fingers touched the keys of the piano with wonderful 
rapidity and precision, yet, during its performance, 
she was much agitated. When she concluded, she 
burst into tears ! 

The cause of her agitation and tears was not the 

character of the music she was playing, for she had 

been watching the dying struggles of a favorite cana- 

139 



140 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

ry whose cage hung over her piano. The little song- 
ster dropped dead just as she finished her perform- 
ance. Her attention had been wholly absorbed in 
the agonies of the bird, and the precision with which 
she had executed that very difficult piece of music 
was wholly the result of habit.* 

Our habits control us, as rods of iron. Bad habits 
are broken off, only, with great difficulty. Some- 
times the habits of early life are never entirely over- 
come. They tyrannize over their victims with unre- 
lenting severity and unyielding perseverance. 
Hence, when the convert to the faith of the gospel 
is under the first vigorous impulses of the gracious 
principle, he should be careful to form the best 
religious habits possible to his circumstances. The 
first year of a convert's life usually determines his 
character through his whole subsequent career. 
Flow careful, then, should you be, dear reader, to 
begin aright ! Your usefulness ; your happiness, 
yea, even your salvation, depend upon such a proper 
beginning. 

* See Abercrombie on the Intellectual Powers, 



FORMATION OF RELIGIOUS HABITS. 141 

Let me give you a specimen of two classes of 
religious professors. Philip is a young man, a 
Christian of some seven years standing. When he 
rises in the morning, which he never fails to do at a 
given hour, he invariably, and without haste, turns 
to the word of God. After reading a short passage, 
Philip calmly drops upon his knees and spends per- 
haps fifteen minutes in serious, earnest prayer to his 
Heavenly Father. He is careful to pray with a 
recollected mind, he fails not to exercise an appro- 
priating faith. 

At noon, the young Christian is in his closet again. 
The well thumbed bible is opened with a disposition 
of heart, which says : " I will hear what God the 
Lord will speak." Rarely does he open the sacred 
book in vain. The word refreshes him. The throne 
of grace is again approached. The blessings of the 
morning are gratefully acknowledged, and grace for 
the afternoon entreated. At a regular hour, Philip 
retires to his chamber at night, and with deliberation 
pours out his soul to God. 

These are the secret habits of young Philip. He 



142 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

began them with his conversion. He resolved to 
maintain them sacredly. Those seasons for prayer 
are, with him, consecrated moments, which he has no 
right to take from God. Like that young man elo- 
quent, the sainted Summerfield, he considers himself 
pre-engaged at those hours, and therefore permits 
nothing to interfere, or hinder him. Every thing else, 
he compels to give way to the claims of his spiritual 
time. To do this cost him many struggles at first, 
but, now, it is comparatively easy. His mind turns 
habitually toward the closet at the appointed hours. 
The consequence is, that Philip is an exemplary 
Christian. 

Now let us examine a specimen of another and 
an opposite class of religionists. Peter is also a 
young man. He was converted at the same time 
and under the same circumstances with Philip. 
They stood together at the same font for baptism ; 
they joined the church in company ; they are situated 
nearly alike in their social condition and employment. 
But here, I regret to say, the resemblance ends. 

Peter has no regular hour for rising in the morn- 



FORMATION OF RELIGIOUS HABITS. 143 

ing. Consequently he is seldom up before the time 
for going to his business. He dresses in a hurry. 
Instead of looking into the Holy Scriptures for a 
word of counsel, and taking time to plead with God, 
he merely drops upon his knees and hastily mutters a 
few thoughtless sentences. He then proceeds either 
to his store or to the breakfast table. Business mat- 
ters next occupy his thoughts, to the exclusion of all 
devotional feeling. Night arrives. He has no relish 
for communion with God. Possibly, he may go 
through the forms of secret worship, ere he seeks his 
couch, but that is all. Pray earnestly he certainly 
does not ; and as he sinks away to slumber, there is a 
cloud settling heavily upon his conscience. This is, 
if I except some occasional struggles, few, feeble 
and far between, after a better experience, a true pic- 
ture of Peter's devotional habits. As may be antici- 
pated, Peter is a very inconsistent, a decidedly use- 
less man to the church. 

What has made the difference between Philip and 
Peter? It is chiefly in this. Philip began at his 
conversion to act by rule ; Peter followed his im- 



144 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

pulses. Philip's adhesion to rules has led to the for- 
mation of right and blessed habits. His life and ex- 
perience move with the uniformity of machinery. 
Peter, depending on impulses, formed wrong habits, 
and his life is fast ebbing away without satisfaction 
to himself or benefit to the world. 

You must, my reader, be either a Philip or a 
Peter. Habits you must have, either good or bad. 
This is unavoidable. Our daily actions inevitably 
lead to habits ; and these habits too often seal our 
destiny in both worlds. 

To which class of professors, young disciple, do 
you desire to belong ? Make your deliberate and 
prayerful selection. Choose to be a Philip. Rely 
upon God ; for power to execute your choice, and 
begin from this hour to fulfil your purpose. Make 
out your plan, and henceforth abide by it with invin- 
cible determination. 

The secret of maintaining a good habit lies in the 
avoidance of its first violation. For example ; you 
have resolved to spend fifteen minutes in your morn- 
ing devotions. You arrange your time for rising, in 



FORMATION OF RELIGIOtJS HABITS. 145 

agreement with that plan and the claims of your daily 
avocation. On a particular day, however, you are 
going a journey, or you oversleep yourself. The 
first solicitation of your heart will be to omit, or at 
least to shorten the time of your devotions. That 
is one of the important moments of your life. Your 
adversary will make that place a battle ground for 
your soul. Yield, violate your habit once, and 
most likely you will do it again. Better go fasting 
to your business ; better proclaim your lengthened 
slumber to the world, than neglect your God and 
violate a habit which is essential to your salvation. 

Begin therefore, young Christian, a habit of pray- 
ing three times each day in secret, before your God. 
Like the man after God's own heart, record the vow : 
" Evening and morning and at noon, will I pray and 
cry aloud : and He shall hear my voice." 

To this habit of regular closet devotion you must 

add a habit of breathing out your desires to God 

continually. Let it be written on your character, 

" I give myself unto prayer." Let every incident 

of life be as the round of a ladder whose top 
13 



146 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

reaches to heaven. If unpleasant, let it prompt 
a prayer for strength and patience ; if pleasant, an 
expression of gratitude. This " will make every 
action of your life holy. You will see nothing, hear 
nothing, without its raising your heart to God.' 1 
Every act and thought will thus become a sacrifice 
to God. O ! how inexpressibly blessed is that man 
who lives in such a holy habit of prayer. 

But, let it be remembered, that, in order to enjoy 
any benefit from this habit, prayer must be prayer ! 
I mean, that a habit of offering lip service to God 
will be of no advantage. Prayer is a serious and 
solemn duty. It is the poor, guilty creature entering 
the presence chamber of the august and holy Crea- 
tor, to give utterance to his wants and wishes. It 
should, therefore, he engaged in, earnestly and sin- 
cerely : properly, according to the directions of the 
word of God. 

Such prayer is always powerful. It prevails with 
God. What did He say who dwelt in the bosom of 
the Father? He who is the Faithful Witness? 
Hear his testimony and be satisfied ! " Whatsoever 



FORMATION OF HELIGIOUS HABITS. 147 

ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Fa- 
ther may be glorified in the Son." " Wlien thou pray- 
est, enter into thy closet : and when thou hast shut 
thy door, pray to thy Father, who is in secret ; and 
thy Father who seeth in secret shall reward thee 
openly" Enough, O Blessed Jesus ! This is thy 
testimony, it cannot fail. Whatsoever the young 
convert asks shall be given him. 

History informs us that Queen Elizabeth gave the 
Earl of Essex a ring, with this promise. " Into 
whatever disgrace you may fall, whatever prejudices 
I may entertain against you, if you will send me this 
ring I will give you a patient hearing and will lend 
a favorable ear to your prayer." Let us now sup- 
pose the Earl of Essex in trouble, and imagine a 
number of circumstances, which, notwithstanding 
this promise, might render his prayer inoperative. 

First ; he might send a prayer for her favor and 
not send her the ring. Secondly ; he might send the 
ring and plead his own excellencies and not her 
promise. Thirdly ; he might demand her favor in a 
peremptory manner. Fourthly ; he might solicit a 



148 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

favor which would be injurious to her honor as a 
queen to bestow. Fifthly ; he might write a rambling 
petition, containing no definite request. Sixthly ; he 
might ask for suitable favors, and yet tell her he did 
not expect to get them. Or finally ; he might ask 
for what would prove his own destruction, if given. 

Here then are seven ways in which a petition 
might be offered and denied, without any violation of 
the Queen's promise. 

It is so with prayer. " Ye ask and receive not 
because ye ask amiss" writes the holy apostle. If 
then you, young convert, desire to offer acceptable 
prayer, you must pray properly. 

1. You must plead the blood of Jesus. " What- 
soever ye ask in my name" said Christ, " that will I 
do," 2. You must not rely in any sense upon your 
own merits, for you, with all the world, are " guilty 
before God" 3. You must pray with deep humility, 
both of spirit and manner. " I dwell with him that 
is of a humble and contrite spirit" 4. You must 
ask such things as will glorify God. Not for things 
which would merely please yourself. Jesus prom- 



FORMATION OF RELIGIOUS HABITS. 149 

ised to answer prayer, " That the Father might le 
glorified in the Son." 5. You must be definite in 
stating your desires. An unmeaning petition is no 
prayer at all. 6. You must ask in faith. " Let him 
ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that waver- 
eth, is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind 
and tossed. For let not that man think he shall 
receive any thing of the Lord." 7. You must pray 
with submission to the will of God. Let him be 
• judge of what is best. You might ask for gold, and 
God might see that poverty would be better for you 
than gold. And so of a thousand things you might 
desire. They would destroy you. God does not 
therefore violate, but keep his promise when he 
withholds such things. 

Within these limits you will always find the bless- 
ed effects of habitual prayer. You will need no high- 
er proof than your own consciousness of the power 
of prayer ; for you will be able to say with the pious 
John Newton at the time of his conversion, " About 
this time I began to know that there is a God, who 
hears and answers prayer." * 

* Quoted in Hamilton's Mount of Olives. 



150 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

There was once a man in a large English town, a 
tailor, who made a very decided profession of 
religion. Among other things, he established a 
family altar. Some of his former friends, with the 
usual acrimony of the carnal heart, began a series of 
persecutions against him. Among other things, they 
prepared a temptation for him, founded on his new 
habit of family devotion. 

Having ascertained his hour for morning prayer, 
they sent a gentleman to his store. " Where is your 
master ? " he inquired of the boy. 

" At breakfast, Sir." 

" Go tell him to come instantly. I wish to be 
measured for two suits of clothes ! " 

The boy proceeded to the breakfast room at the 
back of the store, and delivered the message, just as 
the pious tailor was opening his bible to read. 

" Tell the gentleman we are engaged in our family 
devotions, and I will wait upon him in a few minutes ; " 
was his reply. 

The lad returned with this answer to the gentle- 
man; who, affecting great rage, said : " Go tell your 



FORMATION OF RELIGIOUS HABITS. 151 

master, if he does not come directly, I will go some- 
where else." 

To this message the tailor sent the following reply. 
" I am sorry, but I must wait on God first. When I 
have served Him I will come into the shop and serve 
you." 

The customer went away, but the wicked persecu- 
tors were confounded. The pious tailor showed 
himself to be a Christian indeed. 

I have introduced this incident to impress upon 
you, if you are the head of a family, the importance 
of a habit of family prayer. Not only would I 
advise you to pray morning and evening with your 
family, but to do it steadily. Like this tailor, let 
nothing hinder you from its performance. No, not 
once. Had he yielded at that time, it is more than 
probable, he would have done so again ; and, very 
likely, have ceased altogether. The only way to 
maintain a family altar is to keep it inviolate. In 
respect to its habitual neglect, by some professors, I 
have only to bid you remember that God says : " I 



152 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

will pour out my fury upon the families that call not 
on my name" 

Thompson in his well known poem, " The Castle 
of Indolence," has this beautiful and striking pas- 
sage : 

A pleasing land of drowsy head it was, 

Of dreams that wave before the half-shut eye : 
And of gay castles in the clouds that pass, 

For ever flashing round a summer sky : 
There eke the soft delights, that witchingly. 
Instil a wanton sweetness through the breast, 

And the calm pleasures always hover'd nigh $ 
But whatever smack'd of 'noyance or unrest, 
Was far, far ofF expell'd from this delicious nest. 

Such is his description of the castle occupied by 
the wizard Indolence. How true is this to the ac- 
tual inward life of millions ! It is too true of very 
many who claim the Christian character. Their 
minds know no labor. They submit passively to 
external influences. As passing objects sketch their 
outlines upon the camera obscura, so do the scenes 
of life upon their intellects. They do not think. 



FORMATION OF RELIGIOUS HABITS. 153 

At the close of a day they could not relate their 
thoughts, and for the best of reasons, they have had 
none. The day has passed as in a waking dream. 

This mental dreaminess is the result of habit. 
The habit is injurious to intellectual and spiritual 
growth. If you would be a prosperous Christian, 
you must avoid it. 

Fix therefore upon a topic of thought every morn- 
ing. Take some scripture doctrine, precept or promise 
for a subject. Turn it over in your mind. View it 
in every aspect. Study its relations to other truths. 
Mingle your reflections with prayer. If your mind 
wanders, call it back. Labor most strenuously to 
control it. Do this every day, until habit renders it 
easy. By this means, you will retain a spiritual 
freshness and an intellectual fervor, which will en- 
sure at once your growth in grace and in useful 
ness. 

It is Sabbath morning. The people are flocking 
to the house of God The old patriarch leaning on 
his staff ; the stout youth vigorous and elastic in his 
movements ; the widow with her oppressed heart, 



154 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

and the bride with her smile of undissembled bliss 
are together crowding the path which leads to the 
temple of Jehovah. 

They enter and take their seats. The bell ceases. 
The pastor rises to open the solemn services. His 
eye rests on a vacant seat. He directs a look of 
inquiry. Others too, gaze on that empty seat. There 
is an evident feeling of wonder why it is vacant 

The meeting closes. " Where is Father ? " 

is the universal question. 

" He must be sick ; " is the universal answer. 

The reason of this mutual agreement is, that the 
venerable man whose seat is vacant, has been uni- 
form in his attendance at meeting for many years. 
Every Sabbath, in sunshine and in storm, his seat 
has been occupied. His absence, therefore, excites 
astonishment, and leads to the inference that he is 
sick. 

Another man of similar age is also absent from 
the same church. His absence causes no remark. 
Why not ? He is an irregular attendant. A slight 
storm, a hot sun, or a frivolous excuse is sufficient to 



FORMATION OF RELIGIOUS HABITS. 155 

detain him at home. His presence is always 
noticed ; his absence always unremarked. 

The difference in these two men is the result of 

habit. The first began his Christian life with a stern 

resolution to be a consistent hearer ; the second 

meant to be, but he let trifles affect him and thus fell 

\into irregular habits. 

Nor is it a matter of trifling importance, which of 
these habits is adopted by you, my dear reader. There 
never was a person of exalted piety, who was irreg- 
ular in attendance on the public means of grace. A 
habit of irregularity will most assuredly lead to 
spiritual leanness. The Christian who stays at 
home, does not serve God there. He either lolls 
away the hours in his easy chair or reads some idle 
reading. Devotional he is not. The bible is not 
suited to the taste of Sabbath loiterers. Spending 
one portion of the day at home, unfits him to enjoy 
the remainder. Hence, the Sabbath does not witness 
his religious growth. He does not understand the 
meaning of the poet, who sung, 



156 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

" Oft in his house, his glory shines, 
Before our wondering eyes : 
We wish not then for golden mines, 
Or aught beneath the skies." 

But it may rather be said of such : 

u To use the means of grace, how loth ! 
We call them still in vain j 
They yield to their beloved sloth, 
And fold their arms again." 

To this habit of irregularity is inseparably joined 
a loss of personal influence. He, who is frequently 
absent from the church and the social meeting, ex- 
erts little or no influence over his fellow Christians. 
Even Charity herself will be compelled to doubt his 
piety. Sinners will not respect him as a Christian, 
whatever they may feel towards him as a man. 

Let me entreat you then, young convert, to form 
a habit of punctuality and regularity. Begin at 
once to be known as a constant hearer, do not wan- 
der from church to church. Do not miss one ser- 
mon. Do not lose one prayer meeting, if it is possi- 



FORMATION OF RELIGIOUS HABITS. 157 

ble for you to be present. Form right habits on this 
subject. One meeting omitted, may be a serious loss 
to your soul. God may have given your pastor just 
such a subject as your peculiar wants demanded. 
Your being absent, that once, may cause you to lose 
the blessing in store for you : it may also lead you 
astray. Had Thomas been present at the first meet- 
ing of the disciples, he would not have fallen into 
the sins of presumption and unbelief, as he did. Do 
then, young disciple, as you dread spiritual leanness, 
as you fear a loss of personal influence, as you 
dread to wander from God, do, I beg you in Christ's 
stead, become an habitual attendant on the house of 
God. Go, in all weather, under every possible cir- 
cumstance, go to the house of prayer. 

There is one more habit I wish to urge upon you 
before I close this chapter. You should accustom 
yourself to devote certain portions of your time to 
reading and study. To do this, you must spend 
some evenings at home. Many Christians in our 
cities, spend every evening in the week at meetings 



158 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

of some kind or other. This is unadvisable, except 
perhaps in seasons of powerful revival. Two or 
three evenings a week are sufficient in ordinary 
times, for attendance on social, meetings. The re- 
mainder should be sedulously employed in reading 
the scriptures, in examining works of history or sci- 
ence, in studying the character of holy men and 
women as recorded in their biographies. This habit 
will enlarge your sphere of thought ; it will give you 
a commanding influence in society ; it will save you 
from mental dissipation, and from, what is worse, a 
habit of wasting your evenings in idle conversation 
with religious idlers and backslidden professors, of 
w r hom there are but too many in every branch of the 
church of Christ. 

Many other pious habits will suggest themselves 
to your mind. Many bad ones will be visible in the 
lives of your companions. Rigidly observe the 
former. With the most stubborn energy resist the 
latter. O ! Beware of bad religious habits. While 
writing this book, I cast my eye one morning upon 



FORMATION OF RELIGIOUS HABITS. 159 

the window seat. In the corner I perceived a tiny 
spider, one of the smallest species. He had woven 
a web so fine, I could not perceive the threads which 
composed it. Yet in that slender web a large fly- 
was enfolded. The fine thread had been passed 
round his wings. His struggles were hard and 
incessant, yet he could not escape. And every few 
moments, his little foe descended to survey him and 
if necessary to pass another ligature around him. 
Such are bad habits. However small and trifling 
they appear, they weave strong cords around their 
victim. Every struggle for freedom is followed by 
another bond, until the poor unhappy creature is led 
captive by the devil at his will. Beware then, dear 
young convert, of bad religious habits. Beware 
of sloth, the great adversary of good habits, or it 
may be said of you as of Pollock's candidate for 
fame, who 

" Saw in the very threshold of pursuit, 
A thousand obstacles ', he halted first 
And while he halted, saw his burning hopes 
Grow dim and dimmer still. * * 



160 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

His purposes, made daily, daily broken, 

Like plants uprooted oft, and set again, 

More sickly grew, and daily wavered more, 

Till at the last * * 

Sleep gathered fast, and weighed him downward still.'* * 

* Course of Time, book 6. 



CHAPTER X. 



ON EVIL COMPANY. 



^^SPft^il HEN the prudent mariner sees the 
masts of a wrecked vessel peering up 
above the surface of the waters, he heaves a sigh to 
the memory of the perished ones, and bears away, 
lest his own bark should strand upon the same sand 
bar. He sees his own danger in the half buried 
wreck ; and he avoids it. 

Happy would it be for multitudes, who set sail for 
Heaven, if they were equally wise. If the example 
of thousands who have made shipwreck of their 
faith, on the fatal quicksand of wicked companion- 
ship, had its appropriate influence, every new con- 
vert to Jesus Christ would henceforth utterly forsake 
14 161 



162 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

all unnecessary association with ungodly persons. 
Probably two of every three backsliders are made 
so by the society of ungodly associates. Well, there- 
fore, has the sensible author of " Proverbial Philoso- 
phy " * said, concerning the wicked : 

" Nevertheless for these my counsel is, Avoid them if thou canst, 
For the finer edges of thy virtues will be dulled by attrition with their 

vice. 
And there is an enemy within thee j either to palliate their sin, 
Until, for surface-sweetness thou too art drawn adown the vortex j 
Or, even unto fatal pride, to glorify thy purity by contrast " 

And again, he appropriately says : 

" Many are the dangers and temptations compassing a bad man's presence : 
The upas hath a poisonous shade, and who would slumber there ? 
Wherefore, avoid them if thou canst ; only, under providence and duty, 
If thy lot be cast with Kedar, patiently and silently live to their rebuke." 

What is evil company ? Does it include more 
than the immoral and the profane ? I think so. To 
the young Christian, any companionship is evil which 
has a tendency to draw him away from Christ. The 
moral, the intelligent, the refined, the fashionable, 
if they love not the Lord Jesus Christ, are not fit to 

* Martin Farquhar Tupper, Esq. 



EVIL COMPANY. 163 

be the chosen companions of the child of God. How- 
ever agreeable their society, however amusing and 
attractive their conversation, they must be forsaken. 

Of course the convert will understand these re- 
marks to refer to those friendships, which he has 
been accustomed to form beyond the family circle. 
His relatives are not to be abandoned. Whatever 
their religious character may be, while they do not 
bind his conscience, he must remain ; faithfully per- 
form his duties toward them, and labor earnestly for 
their conversion. But all voluntary intimacies with 
ungodly persons, must be strictly avoided. 

Let us learn the importance of this duty by 
studying a sketch, pencilled from real life. 

There is Madeleine, bowing her knee in humble 
prayer. Her penitence is deep and sincere. She 
rises from her knees with a countenance so calm, 
that her acceptance with God is almost visible to the 
spectators. She speaks : " Now I know that my 
Redeemer liveth. My soul has found rest in the 
arms of my great High Priest." 

It is a lovely spectacle to behold Madeleine in the 



164 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

simplicity and zeal of her " first love." Her fea- 
tures wear an aspect of heavenly confidence : her 
voice declares the goodness of her Savior to all her 
friends ; her feet run to carry the tidings of her salva- 
tion to all her former acquaintances. Zeal, affec- 
tion, devotion, praise, prayer, are the elements of her 
new spiritual life. The church looks upon her with 
delight, the world gazes at her with astonishment. 
Madeleine is " shewing forth the praises of him, who 
hath called her out of darkness into his marvellous 
light." Happy Madeleine ! May you ever remain 
the affectionate and faithful disciple. 

One afternoon this young convert finds a polite 
note on her table, inviting her to a social party. It 
has come from some former associates, for whose 
conversion she has thus far labored in vain. Since 
her religious life began, Madeleine has avoided them 
except for the purpose of strictly religious conversa- 
tion. This invitation is an effort of her friends to 
renew former intimacies. " What shall I do ? " 
she asks herself. The question is important. How 
will she decide ? 



EVIL COMPANY. 165 

Her better judgment bids her decline ; her incli- 
nation suggests that she had better accept. A brief 
conflict ensues. Inclination triumphs. " I must not 
be too strict or they will think unfavorably of reli- 
gion ; " is her inward thought. She prepares to go 
to the party. 

Madeleine is at the house of her friend. Former 
associates gather round her with many kind words of 
welcome. She is pleased, flattered, and inwardly 
condemns herself for having been so distant toward 
such kind acquaintances. 

As the conversation proceeds, the question of re- 
ligion is introduced. Madeleine speaks strongly in 
favor of a life of piety. One of the party replies with 
severe irony. The rest laugh heartily at the jest. 
Madeleine is rebuked and silenced. 

What will she do ? Her duty is to renew her 
defence of religion with meekness and decision. If 
again repulsed, to seize the first moment to retire- 
Does she do this ? Alas ! She condemns herself 
for having gone too far. She resolves to repair the 
fancied indiscretion ; with a strong effort, she rallies 



166 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

her conversational powers, enters into the spirit 
of the party, and before she retires becomes as 
merry, as jocose, and as trifling as the rest. 

Poor Madeleine ! How sad she feels when once 
alone in her chamber. She is condemned for 
trifling; for having permitted the enemies of the 
cross to drive her into a compliance with their spirit. 
A cloud hides the mercy seat from her faith. She is 
very unhappy. With bitter tears, however, she con- 
fesses her sin ; records a solemn vow to avoid the 
society of the scornful in future ; and, before she 
sleeps, recovers the calmness and peace of the res- 
tored disciple. 

But this young Christian has taken a first step into 
evil. The second is difficult to be avoided. Her 
visit and the spirit of levity she displayed have awak- 
ed an expectation among her former companions, 
that she is about to be a congenial spirit again. Ac- 
cordingly they pour in upon her during the next few 
days. Having trifled with them once, she cannot 
resume the dignified seriousness with which she met 
them immediately after her conversion. She is 



EVIL COMPANY. 167 

therefore light and gay in her manners. Condemna- 
tion of heart is the result. A want of conscious 
integrity silences her voice in the church. Her 
zeal languishes ; her love decays ; her devotion dies. 
Madeleine is a backslider in heart. For a while, she 
maintains her profession, but at last dissolves the 
sacred tie and launches forth upon the tide of 
worldliness and fashion, her faith shipwrecked. Men 
pass by her and mournfully sing with the poet : 

" I saw a wreck upon the ocean flood. 
How sad and desolate 1 No man was there j 
No living thing was on it. There it stood ; 
Its sails all gone ; it3 masts were standing bare j 
Tossed in the wide, the boundless, howling sea. 
The very sea-birds screamed, and passed it by. 
And as I looked, the ocean seemed to be 
A sign and figure of eternity. 
The wreck an emblem seemed of those, that sail 
Without the Pilot Jesus, on it3 tide. 
Thus, thought I, when the final storms prevail, 
Shall rope, and sail, and mast be scattered wide ; 
And they, with helm and anchor lost, be driven. 
In endless exile sad, far from the port of Heaven."* 
* Professor Upham. 



168 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

Young convert ! The case of Madeleine is the 
history of millions. From the world before the 
flood, when the sons of God, the worshippers of the 
Most High, mingled with the daughters of men, or of 
the wicked, down to the present moment, worldly 
friendships have been fatal to piety. When the 
Christian voluntarily enters a convivial party of 
worldlings, like Madeleine, he will find them unwil- 
ling to have their sociality marred by the solemn to- 
pics of eternity and death. If the Christian insist 
upon his right to discourse salvation, their mutual 
intercourse will soon be ended. The unregenerate 
will not invite such a disciple to their companies. 
They never solicit the presence of a Christian among 
them, only on the presumption, that he will accom- 
modate himself to their spirit and feelings. And 
that disciple, who seeks the social circle of the irrelig- 
ious, must yield his right and duty to speak of Christ. 
He must imbibe the spirit of his associates. He can no 
more escape the contagion of their worldly spirit, 
than he can avoid being influenced by an atmosphere 
infected with a deadly malaria. Let him be brought 



EVIL COMPANY. 169 

under their influence, he will soon cease to be spirit- 
ual. Ceasing to be spiritual his enjoyment will de- 
part and he become, like Madeleine, a poor unhappy- 
backslider. 

I beg the young convert not to despise these 
warnings. The salvation of the soul is so precious, 
that any hinderance to its attainment should be care- 
fully and earnestly avoided. Any caution, or word 
of warning should awaken fear. The first roar of 
the breakers is sufficient to alarm the wary mari- 
ner ; the least intimation of a defile will rouse the 
caution of the prudent soldier. And shall not these 
plain statements of the extreme danger of worldly 
associations lead the young Christian to be on his 
guard ? Will he rush into a yawning gulf with his 
eyes open ? Will he hazard the eternal bliss of 
heaven for the sake of the worldling's friendship ? 
No ! Surely it cannot be. The convert will be warn- 
ed. Now that the snare is revealed, he will surely 
be as wise as the bird of whom Solomon said : " In 
vain the net is spread in the sight of any hird" 

But, lest the reader should say these statements 
15 



170 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

are merely the opinions of the writer, and, yielding 
to an already captivated inclination, resolve to 
attempt the fatal experiment of retaining both world- 
ly friendship and the Christian character, I will ex- 
hibit the wisdom, the wishes and the authority of 
Jehovah. If he make any justifiable pretensions to 
Christian discipleship, that authority must be decisive 
on his subsequent action. 

" Blessed is the man thai walketh not in the counsel 
of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, 
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful" 

Here is the wisdom of God. He who knows the 
power of evil influence over the godly man, here at- 
tempts to lure him from the society of the " ungodly" 
the " sinner" and the " scornful" by the promise 
of a blessing. Why has He done this, if there is 
no danger in such associations ? And mark it, my 
dear reader, it is not from the companionship of the 
blasphemer, the profane person, the murderer mere- 
ly, that you are enticed, but from the ^ungodly" — 
from those who, whatever may be their intellectual 



EVIL COMPANY. 171 

attractions, are not in possession of the image of 
God. Now listen to the commandment of your 
Heavenly Father. 

" Enter not in the path of the wicked, and go not 
in the way of evil men. Avoid it ! Pass not by 

IT, TURN FROM IT AND PASS AWAY." 

Christian reader ! Do you acknowledge the au- 
thority of the Bible ? Then is the question settled. 
You dare not associate with the wicked ! You dare 
not choose them for friends and companions. 
God has forbidden it, in the most absolute manner. 
The text just quoted unquestionably prohibits such 
friendships. 

God has also taught the danger of such worldly 
fellowship. " Evil communications corrupt good 
manners.'''' " The friendship of the world is enmi- 
ty with God." These are plain, unqualified state- 
ments. To choose ungodly companions is to aban- 
don the Lord ! 

That no room for hesitation should remain, God 

has added threats to the list of motives. " A com- 

j 
panion of fools shall be destroyed." " Yes, destroy- 



172 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

ed ! Why so ? Plainly because such a companion 
will seduce him into sin. He cannot walk in the 
way of life and be companion with one who walks 
the way of death. The thing is impossible. He 
will cross the line ; and both, after travelling the road 
together, will go in at the gates of death and be 
companions in Hell. 

Speaking of the Christian in worldly company, 
the lamented and eloquent Chalmers says : " All 
the feeling, and all the fancy which circulate there, 
may be in perfect unison with those best sympathies, 
which go to cement and to sweeten the intercourse 
of human society ; and yet the whole breath of 
this fair society on earth may be utterly distinct from 
the breath of the society in Heaven. In the very 
proportion of its freedom from that which would 
alarm and repel a sensitive delicacy, may it in truth 
be the more pregnant with danger to the souls of the 
unwary. It may only engage them the more to the 
things that are beneath, and alienate them the more 
from the things that are above. And thus it is 
a very possible thing, that in simply prosecuting 



EVIL COMPANY. 173 

your round of invitations among this world's amiable 
friends and hospitable families, you may be cradling 
the soul into utter insensibility against the portentous 
realities of another world — a spiritual lethargy may 
grow and gather every year till it settles down into 
the irrevocable sleep of death — and without one 
specific transgression that can be alledged of the 
companies among which you move, still may you be 
inhaling in the midst of them an atmosphere that 
makes you as oblivious of eternity, as if you had 
drunk of the water of forgetfulness. It may not be 
the air of vulgar profligacy or abandoned licentious- 
ness, but it may be still the air of irreligion. And 
you, assimilating more and more to the tempera- 
ment by which you are surrounded, in confirmed 
irreligion may expire / "•* 

" But how shall I act toward those of my relatives 
and business associates who are irreligious ? Must 
I forsake them ? " No ! That is both impossible 
and inexpedient. You must move among them as a 
Christian. You must walk and act among them, but 

* Sermon on Amusements and Companies of the World. 



174 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

not be of them. You must, by your devotional 
spirit, create an atmosphere around you which will 
defend you from their influence and enable you to 
exert a saving power over them. You must resem- 
ble that little insect, known to naturalists, " which can 
gather round it a sufficiency of atmospheric air — 
and so clothed upon, descends into the bottom of the 
pool, and you may. see the little diver moving about 
at his ease, protected by his crystal vesture, though the 
water all around and above be stagnant and bitter." * 
So by maintaining a high degree of spirituality, you 
may clothe yourself with a vestment, which will 
protect you from all harm in those contaminating 
spheres of action, where you are compelled by the 
Providence of God to live and act. 

You will, however, need a few bosom friends. The 
wants of your nature demand social pleasures. You 
must look for such friends among the people of God. 
In the church of which you are or will be a 
member, you will undoubtedly be able to find those 
whose friendship will be a blessing to you. But 

* Hamilton's Mount of Olives. 



EVIL COMPANY. 175 

even here, care is needed. Not every member of a 
church is a safe friend. Remember the tares grow 
with the wheat. The gospel net contains fishes both 
good and bad. Choose, therefore, with caution Let 
decided piety be the primary qualification in your 
companions. Next to this, congeniality of tastes 
and pursuits may be sought after. These found, you 
may have both pleasure and safety in their acquain- 
tance, and learn by experience the truth of that 
Proverb which says, " He that walketh with wise 
men shall be wise." 

And now permit me, young Christian, to ask what 
is your decision ? Convinced you must be of the 
truth. The path of duty is plainly before you. 
Will you faithfully walk therein ? Be assured, it is 
no light matter ! Lot was attracted by the beautiful 
vale of Sodom> to dwell among the wicked inhabi- 
tants of that devoted city. And costly was the price 
he paid for mingling with that sin-accursed people. 
His sons and his wife perished in their tremendous 
overthrow. Sampson was charmed by the beauty of 
the Philistine women, and the gayety of the Philistine 



176 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

people. His mighty strength, his liberty, and final- 
ly his life was the price he paid for gratifying his 
desires. Solomon well nigh lost his soul, and Reho- 
boam forfeited the greater part of his kingdom 
through ungodly friendships. And the first instance 
of benefit to a disciple of Christ from such associa- 
tions has yet to be written on the records of the 
church of Christ! 

And will you — can you trifle with so momentous 
a subject ? You desire to wear the crown of life. 
Well ! The desire is worthy of you. The object is 
a glorious one. It is worth sacrifices. Make them. 
Give up worldly friendship for the sake of Heaven. 
The exchange will be infinitely profitable. Then 
make it. Crush your inclinations ! Chain your af- 
fections ! Bind yourself to Christ, with the cords of 
love. Make friendships, and every thing in life sub- 
servient to his glory and your own eternal felicity, 
and then you will be honored with the smile of that 
"friend, who sticketh closer than a brother" 



CHAPTER XL 



ON MARRIAGE, 



l|kHE consequences of one important misstep 
in life often follow a man to the grave. Eli 
permitted his sons to get a victory over him in their 
boyhood, and they became a source of trouble to 
him to his latest moment. Napoleon sent his armies 
into Spain and never knew prosperity afterwards. 
But for that great mistake, he had probably died 
Emperor of France. He was firmly seated on his 
throne, allied by marriage to the House of Austria, 
and feared by all Europe. But then, his ambitious 
spirit conceived the project of making his imbecile 
brothers kings. Spain was to be subdued in pursu- 
ance of this design. He sent his veterans into the 

177 



178 



THE PATH OF LIFE. 



Spanish Peninsula. The bugles of that invading 
army roused all Europe. It did not repose again 
until the proud king-maker saw his eagles fall in the 
mire and blood of Waterloo. 

The same truth appears in the history of every 
child of affliction. Nearly all, who dwell in the re- 
gions of earthly sorrow, can trace their trouble back 
to some one great mistake in early life. Some fault, 
which like a deadly poison working in the blood, has 
insinuated itself into all the subsequent portions of 
their existence. 

Perhaps no one misstep is more common than the 
ill-assorted marriage. Certainly the hour which wit- 
nesses the nuptials of many promising religious con- 
verts, closes the history of their Christian experience. 
They become henceforth lost to the church. Or, if 
a church relation is. retained, and an effort made to 
live a spiritual life, it is done through much discour- 
agement and with severe struggles. The thorn is in 
the flesh : the wound it makes is scarcely ever healed 
Is marriage, then, unfavorable to piety ? By no 
means. On the contrary, a judicious, scriptural 



MARRIAGE. 179 

marriage is highly conducive to religious and social 
enjoyment. It is of Divine institution, and He who 
made man has thereby declared the married state to 
be the best condition of human life ; yea, to be 
necessary to the full realization of social happiness. 
It must therefore be favorable to the growth of 
piety. 

Why, then, is marriage ever a source of evil ? 
Because it is often contracted in opposition to the 
will of God. Believers choose unbelieving compan- 
ions. The children of God marry with the children 
of the Devil. Christ and Belial are brought together. 
Is it wonderful that the parties to these impious 
unions are unhappy ? Is it astonishing that those 
disciples, who trample on the will of God in their 
marriages, lose his favor, or make bitter work for re- 
pentance unto the end of their lives ? 

Louise was a beautiful example of female piety. 
Educated, refined, yet deeply devoted to her Savior, 
she adorned her profession with a lustre rarely ex- 
celled. Her fellow disciples loved her tenderly. 
The poor saw her and were glad, for Louise was be- 



180 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

nevolent. Seldom has the light of piety shone with 
such brilliancy and purity as it did in the life and 
actions of this meek, excellent young lady. Never 
did young Christian give brighter promise of being 
faithful unto death. 

Louise was addressed by a young man of excel- 
lent moral character, but without piety. A better 
and more suitable companion in every other respect 
could not be desired. He was a counterpart to the 
amiable youth of whom Jesus said, "One thing 
thou lackest" He sought Louise's hand in mar- 
riage. 

The faith of Louise was sorely tried by this pro- 
posal. To reject it was to refuse a most advanta- 
geous offer. Besides this, she felt a strong attach- 
ment toward him. Both interest and affection plead- 
ed. " What shall I do ? He is friendly to religion. 
He is all that could be desired in a bosom 
companion, only he is not a Christian ! ,? 

Thus thought Louise. Still, in her better judg- 
ment, she felt convinced that his being unrenewed 
ought to be an insuperable barrier to their union. 



MARRIAGE. 181 

But inclination triumphed. Louise stood at the altar 
and plighted the irrevocable vow ! , 

Was she happy ? Alas ! already had she been 
conscious of spiritual declension. Her intercourse 
with her affianced husband, prior to her marriage, had 
damped the fervor of her zeal. The silent convic- 
tions of her conscience that she was wrong, had 
weakened her confidence in God. The wedding day 
cast a further gloom over her spirit. Its festivities 
were unsanctified by prayer. The bridegroom's 
spirit — the spirit of the world — reigned lord of 
the ascendant. They took possession of their new 
home, but no family altar was reared there— no secret 
place was consecrated to closet devotion. The bride 
and the bridegroom were there, but Christ, the 
bride's Master, was excluded ; or was there only as 
a secluded guest. 

At first the husband of Louise attended the house 
of God with punctuality ; he shewed no opposition 
to the great subject of religion. His wife ventured 
one day to plead the cause of Christ with him. Then 
the carnal mind was roused. He spoke warmly. 



182 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

Henceforth the topic of personal piety is to be inter- 
dicted. He would not listen to the name of Louise's 
Master. 

Very soon he grew weary of going to the house 
of God. If his wife ventured to go and leave him 
at home, he charged her with unkindness, and even 
threatened to seek amusement away from home. 
Fearful of the results, Louise abandoned her seat at 
church. 

The next step of the unconverted husband was to 
urge his wife to visit social parties, concerts and other 
places of amusement. At first, she resisted, but by 
degrees yielded. The church was compelled to cut 
her off as an unworthy member, and none, who now 
know the gay and fashionable wife, would suspect 
that she was once the meek, zealous and devoted 
lover of Jesus. 

Lucy, who belonged to the same church, was not so 
brilliant a light in the first months of her Christian 
profession as Louise ; but she was truly devoted. 
Her character was developed by degrees. Every 
week brought to light excellencies unobserved before.. 



MARRIAGE. 183 

Her piety deepened as the light of the gospel shone 
more clearly upon her yielding and submissive 
heart. 

Lucy had a suitor of similar attractions and claims 
to him who became the husband of Louise. A 
slight intimacy had existed between them prior to 
her conversion. When she gave up her sins, she 
also gave up her suitor. With a firmness worthy of 
imitation, she said to him, " I am now a follower of 
Christ. You walk in an opposite path. We cannot 
be happy together. When you become a Christian, 
if desirable, our intercourse can be renewed." 

The young man, however, shewed no inclination 
for Christian duties. He plunged deeply into the 
pleasures of sin, married a gay woman, and died 
unconverted. 

The thoughtless and trifling blamed Lucy for los- 
ing so fine an opportunity for a comfortable settle- 
ment in life ; some of her fellow-disciples, too, joined 
in their sentence of condemnation ; but Lucy felt 
the satisfaction of one who makes a sacrifice for 
Christ's sake. 



184 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

She had her reward. A man of acknowledged 
piety saw her worth and married her. Happiness 
and piety crowned their union. They walk together 
in unity of spirit, mutual helpers in the way to 
Mount Zion. 

Louise and Lucy are examples of two classes, 
many of whom I have seen during my ministerial 
life. They represent, not merely two individuals, 
hut, two very large classes, the first of which it is to 
be regretted is constantly increasing in the church of 
Christ. With their history before him, to which 
class will the young convert decide to belong ? Ad- 
mitting the certainty of similar consequences in 
almost every case, will you, dear reader, choose the 
destiny of Louise ? Will you, for the sake of a 
husband or wife, deliberately forsake your Savior ? 
Better far to remain unmarried through life than to 
marry an impenitent sinner, who will first lead you 
from the cross of Christ, and then, after embittering 
your domestic life, take you with him to an everlast- 
ing abode in hell ! 

Look seriously, young Christian, at this serious 



MARRIAGE. 185 

question. Strip it of that romantic aspect with which 
the young imagination delights to cover it ! The 
utterance of that irrevocable vow is the most weighty 
act of life. It forges a bond which no hand but 
Death's can break. Think seriously ! Will you 
bind your destiny to that of an impenitent sinner ? 
Yow, an aspirant after heaven, join yourself to an 
heir of hell ! You, the possessor of the Spirit of 
Christ, wed one who is ruled by the spirit of Satan. 
Is it possible ? How can you expect to reach 
heaven in such company ? 

Speaking of these unholy unions, that eloquent, 
apostolic man, William Jay, says, " How unmeet is 
it while one goes into the presence of God by devo- 
tion, for the other to stand without, till this transac- 
tion be over ! How forceless the petition singly 
signed, while the voice of love and union cries, " If 
two of you shall agree on earth, as touching any 
thing they may ask, it shall be done of my heavenly 
Father ! " How strange and unsightly must it be 
for one of these associates to be seeking the way 

everlasting, while the other is going the road to 
16 



186 THE PATH OE LIFE. 

death ! How hurtful to divide and separate, where, 
weak and opposed alone, they need every mutual 
encouragement and assistance ! How appalling to 
reflect, that the most endearing alliance must he 
broken up forever at the termination of a life equally 
short and uncertain ! # 

Can you then, young Christian, in view of the 
probable and almost certain consequences of marry- 
ing an unconverted person, entertain the idea for a 
moment ? With hundreds before you, who have be- 
come castaways upon this fatal rock, will you delib- 
erately dash upon it and shipwreck your faith also. 
Is heaven so lightly valued, that you are willing to 
risk its enjoyments for the sake of the companion- 
ship of one of its enemies ? Do you love Christ so 
little that you are prepared to prefer the love of a 
dying fellow creature to His friendship ? O dreadful 
preference ! Shameful dishonor done to the Lord 
of glory ! Can you dare to hope that if you become 
thus guilty, He will acknowledge you when he comes 
in his glory ! 

* The Wife's Advocate. Jay's works, vol. 3. 



MARRIAGE. 187 

Two mariners are in the same port. Both of them 
are in the command of a noble ship. They are 
both about to sail on a long and distant voyage. 

From the port there are two channels leading to 
the ocean. One is deep, wide, pleasant and safe. 
Rarely has a ship experienced any difficulty in sail- 
ing there. The other passage is narrow, shallow, 
abounding in rocks and sand bars. It is so danger- 
ous that scarcely a vessel has ever passed it in safe- 
ty. It is marked with wrecks along its entire length. 

One of these mariners wisely chooses the safe 
channel, and his ship, with her white sails filled by 
a favoring breeze, gaily floats out to sea in safety. 
The other, in opposition to the warning voice of his 
friends, in defiance of the almost impassable bar- 
riers, attempts the shallow passage. He is soon em- 
barrassed by its irregularities. He has to tack from 
side to side, makes slow progress ; every moment 
his difficulties increase. He attempts to return, but 
the channel is too narrow to permit this. Soon he 
runs upon a shoal. Night comes on. The winds 
rise ; the sea roars ; the waves grow tumultuous. 



188 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

In vain he utters useless regrets and groans forth his 
foolish sorrows. The angry elements heed not his 
cries. They know no pity. When the sun rises, 
the mariner is no more ! His noble ship has gone 
to pieces upon the rocks. All is lost, through a folly 
that would not be warned by the voice of experi- 
ence. 

Such is the folly of that young Christian, who, 
wilfully disregarding the voices of the past, and the 
living facts within his own sphere of observation, 
rushes to the hymenial altar with a Christless bride 
or bridegroom. Is it wonderful that unavailing re- 
grets and bitter experiences fill the hearts of such 
disciples? Is it surprising that God troubles them 
with frowning providences or departs from them al- 
together ? Yea, is it not most wonderful that any, 
after such unions, maintain the enjoyment of Christ 
in their hearts ? 

Thus far, I have argued this point from the nature 
of the case and the experiences of others. Now I 
propose to bring you the testimony of Holy Writ. 



MARRIAGE. 189 

To this you must submit yourself, or totally abandon 
your hopes of Eternal Life. 

" Can two walk together except they be agreed ? " 
This is the Lord's question. It commends itself to 
our common sense, even in the case of ordinary 
companionships. Agreement in spirit and character 
is necessary to a common friendship. How much 
more in the strict intimacy of the marriage bond ! 
How can the carnal mind and the mind of Christ 
mingle ? Such opposite principles brought into fel- 
lowship can but produce perpetual differences. Do 
you choose a marriage with such an inevitable issue ? 
Or do you intend to sell your religious principles for 
the poor compensation of a God-accursed union ? 

To the Jewish church God said, " Neither shalt 
thou make marriages with them." This pro- 
hibition, you see, is peremptory. True, it related to 
intermarriage with heathen families. But where is 
the difference between the sinner of the Christian 
community, and the heathen in the Jewish neighbor- 
hood ? In respect to knowledge, the difference is 
great. But wherein do their hearts differ? The 



190 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

heathen rejected the service of Jehovah, his heart 
hated God; the modern sinner does the same, and 
with far less excuse. He knows better ; he violates 
his conscience ; he is God's most deliberate enemy. 
Do not the same reasons, therefore, exist for avoiding 
the intimate associations of the marriage relation in 
this case as in that of the Jew and the heathen ? 

God assigned a particular reason, aside from the 
personal influence of such marriages, for their abso- 
lute prohibition. He said, " They (the heathen) 

WILL TURN AWAY THY SON FROM FOLLOWING ME." 

Is not this reason also applicable to the Christian 
and the sinner ? When, in the Providence of God, 
the parties to such unscriptural unions become 
parents, how sad their influence upon their offspring ! 
What avails it, if the religious parent teach the 
children to pray, to read the Holy Bible, to walk in 
the »Way of Life? will not the example of the un- 
converted parent lead them to reply as did a boy, 
who, when his mother rebuked him for swearing, 
said, " My father swears." What bitter regret, what 
unavailing sorrow must such a shocking exhibition, of 



MERRIAGE. 191 

parental influence have excited in the foolish woman 
who had married such a sinner ! Would you avoid 
such an experience, young convert ? Would you 
escape the misery of having an ungodly family? 
Then, marry not with an unconverted man or 
woman. Be fixed on this point. Live and die un- 
married, or many a fellow laborer in Christ. 

The language of the New Testament is equally 
positive and unequivocal. " Be ye not unequally 
yoked together with unbelievers" wrote Paul to the 
Corinthian church. Of a widow, also, after showing 
her right to a second marriage, he said, " She is at 
liberty to be married to whom she will, only in the 
Lord." She had no right as a Christian woman to 
marry out of Christ. No ! as a believer, she could 
have no part with Belial. She must marry only in 
the Lord. 

Is not this authoritative ? Do not these texts abso- 
lutely forbid the intermarriage of believers with un- 
believers as plainly as the Jewish law forbade the 
union of the Jew and heathen. To me, it seems, 
that language could not make the prohibition more 



192 THE PATH OF LIFE, 

clear. And that disciple, who in its face proceeds 
to the formation of such a marriage, is guilty of 

WILFUL SIN. 

Once more then, I implore you, dear young con- 
vert, to set your heart against the idea of marrying 
a Christless person. You may have an opportunity 
to secure wealth and social consideration by such a 
marriage. Spurn such an idea. Marriages for 
money's sake are only instances of legalized forni- 
cation. True affection must form the basis of a gen- 
uine marriage. Or you may be lured by the hope 
of converting your partner to Christ. The hope is 
only a fond delusion. You will rather be drawn 
from Christ ; and besides, if during the term of pre- 
vious courtship you do not succeed, depend upon it 
you will not after the bond is sealed. Such conver- 
sions rarely occur. Be not therefore deceived. 
Scripture, experience and common sense combine to 
show that the marriages of Christians with unbeliev- 
ers, are fatal to the piety of the former and by no 
means beneficial to the latter. 



CHAPTER XII. 



DECISION OF CHARACTER. 



tT was anciently said of Fabricius, a noble 
Roman, that a man might as easily turn the sun 
from his course as to persuade him to do a base or a 
dishonest action. This saying proves the reputation 
of Fabricius for impregnable integrity, for unyield- 
ing decision. Our Milton's description of Abdiel is 
similar. He was — 



■ Faithful found 



Among the faithless, faithful he 

Among innumerable false, unmoved. 

Unshaken, unseduced, unterrified ; 

His loyalty he kept, his love, his zeal. 

Nor number, nor example with him wrought, 

To swerve from truth, or change his constant mind, 

Though single." 

17 193 



J 94 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

And such is the character which every young 
convert should labor to form for himself. He should 
be a Joshua in the midst of the irresolute and falter- 
ing, crying, " As for me and my house, we will serve 
the Lord." An Elijah defending the honor of pros- 
trate truth, in the very congregation of Baal ; and 
exhorting them, " If the Lord he God to serve him" 
A Daniel holding on to his integrity in the face of 
Death, crying aloud in the hearing of the wicked, 
" My God will send his angel and will shut the lions'* 
mouths, that they shall not hurt me" A Paul pro- 
fessing godliness before philosophers on Mars Hill, or 
in the presence of Nero at the Court of Rome ; and 
always declaring by word and act, " I count all 
things loss for the excellency of the knowledge of 
Christ Jesus my Lord." 

The leading element in a decided Christian is 
firmness. Nothing moves him away from the post 
of duty. His whole being is brought into subjection 
to religious principles. Having u put his hand to the 
plough" nothing induces him to look back. He never 
falters or hesitates. His mind is made up to do 



DECISION OF CHARACTER. 195 

right. Be it ever so costly to please God, he cheer- 
fully pays the price, because he has settled it irrevo- 
cably, that the approbation of God is worth all else 
combined. 

Nor is this the decision of an impulsive hour ; it is 
the uniform practice of his life. Let the zeal of the 
church be flaming or dead, he moves on steadfastly, 
like the planet in its orbit. He " holds fast" where- 
unto he has attained. He steadily travels onward, 
like a river to its ocean home. 

It is said of Sir Thomas Abney, once Mayor of 
London, that ■" he made no scruple at the lord May- 
or's feast, to rise in the evening and inform the com- 
pany that he was going to withdraw, to perform the 
worship of God in his family ; after which he would 
return again." * This is an example of Christian 
decision worthy of imitation. The man who could 
face so dignified an assembly, composed mainly of 
irreligious persons, and so boldly confess his attach- 
ment to the duty of prayer, must have possessed an 
extraordinary degree both of piety and firmness. 

* Jay's Family Discourses. 



196 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

His character must have been well established, or he 
would have met the scorn of the party. But he, or 
any other uniform Christian, could resolutely meet 
all God's claims and command the veneration of the 
spectators. 

I will now spread before you, my reader, an illus- 
trative sketch of a decided Christian, which will shew 
you what he is, and I trust, allure you to become one 
yourself. The picture is substantially true. Names 
and places are of course concealed. 

Frank Edwards, a young married man, employed 
as a machinist in an English manufactory, was con- 
verted. His conversion was deep and genuine ; it 
reached both heart and life. The change was com- 
plete, and from being notoriously trifling and thought- 
less he became a proverb for cheerful gravity and 
serious deportment. 

Very delightful was the first experience of that 
young man. A good workman, he enjoyed constant 
employment, with wages sufficient to procure the 
comforts of life. He had a thrifty wife, who was 
led to Jesus by his own influence. Their cottage was 



DECISION OF CHARACTER. 197 

the house of prayer. Religion, plenty, health, and 
contentment dwelt with them ; probably there was 
not another home in England more pleasant than 
that of this young, pious mechanic. 

But piety is not an effectual shield to defend from 
trouble. It supports — gloriously supports the suf- 
ferer — but his path to heaven is appointed to lead 
through " much tribulation" As in nature, the storm- 
cloud gathers in the horizon, while the sun shines 
with splendor in the heavens, so in the kingdom of 
grace, while the child of God rejoices in ease and 
prosperity, and ascends the summit of Pisgah, he 
may rest assured that events are in preparation, 
which will hurl him down to the vale of Baca — to 
the place of weeping and lamentation. 

It was thus with Frank Edwards and his happy 
family. In the midst of their prosperity, adversity 
looked in at their cottage door ; poverty sat down at 
their table. Let us trace the cause of their trouble. 

One day the machinery of the manufactory broke 
and its operations were stopped. All hands were set 
to repairing it with the utmost haste. The week 



198 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

was closing and the work was unfinished. On Sat- 
urday evening, the overseer entered and said to the 
men, " You must work all day to-morrow." 

Frank instantly remembered the fourth command- 
ment. He resolved to keep it, because he felt that 
his duty to God required him under all circum- 
stances to refrain from labor on the Sabbath day. 
Offering an inward prayer to God, he respectfully 
addressed the overseer : 

" Sir, to-morrow is Sunday." 

" I know it, but our mill must be repaired." 

" Will you excuse me, sir, from working on the 
Sabbath ? " 

" No, Frank, I can't excuse any one. The com- 
pany will give you double wages, and you must 
work." 

" I am sorry, sir, but I cannot work to-morrow." 

" Why not, Mr. Edwards ; you know our necessi- 
ties, and we offer you a fair remuneration," 

" Sir, it will be a sin against God, and no necessity 
is strong enough — no price high enough, to induce me 
to offend my Maker any more." 



DECISION OF CHARACTER. 199 

" I am not here to argue the morality of the ques- 
tion, Frank ; you must either work to-morrow or be 
discharged." 

" I cannot hesitate, sir, a moment, I have resolved 
to please God. Cost what earthly price it may, I 
will keep his commandments." 

" Then, Mr. Edwards, if you will step into the 
counting room, I will pay you what the company 
owes you, and you will then leave our establish- 
ment." 

To say that Frank's heart did not shrink from this 
trial, would be to deny his humanity ; but his faith 
came to his help. Casting himself upon God, he 
gathered up his tools and entered the counting 
room. 

The overseer was extremely unwilling to part 
with Frank ; for he was a superior workman, and 
since his conversion, had been the most trusty man 
in the employment of the company. He therefore 
addressed him very kindly, while handing him his 
wages : " Mr. Edwards, had you not better re-con- 
sider your resolution. Remember, work is scarce, 



200 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

we pay you high wages, and it is not often we 
require you to labor on the Sabbath." 

" Sir, " replied Frank, " my mind is fixed. I 
will not work on Sundays if I have to starve to 
death." 

" Very well, sir," was the cool answer of the 
overseer ; who, not being a Christian, could not ap- 
preciate the noble heroism of Frank's reply. 

On reaching his humble cottage, the mechanic 
could not forbear a sigh, as the thought flitted across 
his mind, that possibly he might soon lose his home 
comforts. But that sigh was momentary. He re- 
membered the promise of God and grew calmly 
peaceful. Entering his house, he said to his wife, 
" Mary, I am discharged ! " 

" Discharged, Frank ! What has happened ? O 
what will become of us ! Tell me why you are 
discharged ! " 

" Be calm, Mary ! God will provide ! I left the 
shop because I would not break the Sabbath. They 
wanted me to work to-morrow, and because I refus- 
ed, they discharged me." 



DECISION OF CHARACTER. 201 

Mary was silent. She looked doubtful, as if not 
quite sure that her husband was right. Her faith 
was not so strong as Frank's, nor was her character 
so decided. In her heart she thought, as thousands 
of fearful disciples would under similar circumstan- 
ces, that her husband had gone too far. But although 
she said nothing, Frank read her thoughts, and 
grieved over her want of faith. 

Sweet was the hour of family prayer to Frank 
that evening, sweeter still was the secret devotion of 
the closet, and he never closed his eyes with more 
heavenly calmness of spirit, than when he sunk to 
sleep on that eventful evening. 

The following week brought Frank's character to 
a severer test. All his friends condemned him ; even 
some members of his church said, they thought he 
had gone beyond the strict requirement of duty. " It 
was well," they said, " to keep the Sabbath ; but 
then, a man like Frank Edwards ought to look at 
the wants of his family and not strain after a gnat, 
and perhaps be compelled to go to the work-house. 

This was dastardly language for Christians, but 



202 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

there are always too many of this class of irresolute 
sight-walking disciples. Frank met them on all 
sides, and found himself almost without sympathy. 
A few noble, enlightened Christians, however, ad- 
mired and encouraged him. Frank held to his pur- 
pose with a spirit worthy of a martyr. 

The cloud grew darker. Through the influence 
of his former employers, who were vexed because 
he left them, the other corporations refused to em- 
ploy him. Winter came on with its frosts and storms. 
His little stock of savings gradually disappeared. 
Poverty stared them in the face. Frank's watch, 
Mary's silver spoons, their best furniture went to the 
auction shop. They had to leave their pleasant cot- 
tage, and one little garret held the little afflicted 
family and the slender remains of their cottage fur- 
niture. 

Did Frank regret his devotion to God ? No ! he 
rejoiced in it. He had obeyed God, he said, and God 
would take care of him. Light would break out of 
darkness. All would yet be well. So spoke his un- 
yielding faith ; his fixed heart doubted not. The 



DECISION OF CHARACTER. 203 

blacker the cloud, the more piercing grew the eye of 
his triumphing faith. With his Mary the case was 
different. Her faith was weak, and, pressing her 
babes to her bosom, she often wept, and bent before 
the sweeping storm. 

The winter passed away, and Frank was still in 
the fiery furnace, rejoicing, however, amidst the 
flames. Some friends offered him the means of 
emigrating to the United States. Here was a light 
gleam. He rejoiced in it, and prepared to quit a 
place which refused him bread because he feared 
God. 

Behold him ! that martyr-mechanic, on board the 
emigrant ship. Her white sails catch the favoring 
breeze, and, with a soul full of hope, Frank looked 
toward this western world. A short, pleasant pas- 
sage, brought them to one of our Atlantic cities. 

Here he soon found that his faith had not been 
misplaced. The first week of his arrival saw him 
not merely employed, but filling the station of fore- 
man in the establishment of some extensive machin- 
ists. 



204 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

Prosperity now smiled on Frank, and Mary once 
more rejoiced in the possession of home comforts. 
They lived in a style far better and more comfortable 
than when in their English cottage. " Mary," Frank 
would often ask, pointing to their charming little par- 
lor, " is it not best to obey God ? " 

Mary could only reply to this question with smiles 
and tears ; for every thing around them said, " Bless- 
ed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and 
respecteth not the proud. Surely he shall not be 
moved for ever." 

But Frank's trials were not over. A similar claim 
for Sabbath labor was made upon him in his new sit- 
uation. An engine for a railroad or steamboat was 
broken, and must be repaired. " You will keep your 
men employed through to-morrow, Mr. Edwards ; so 
that the engine may be finished on Monday morn- 
ing," said the chief overseer. 

" I cannot do it, sir." 

" Why not, Mr. Edwards ? " 

" I cannot break the Lord's day. I will work un- 
til midnight on Saturday, and begin directly after 



DECISION OF CHARACTER. 205 

midnight on Monday morning. God's holy time I 
will not touch." 

" That won't do, Mr. Edwards. You must work 
your men through the Sabbath, or the owners will 
dismiss you." 

" Be it so, sir ! " replied Frank. " I crossed the 
Atlantic because I would not work on Sunday. I 
will not do it here." 

Monday came, the work was unfinished. Frank 
expected his discharge. While at work, a gentle- 
man inquired for him. " I want you to go with me 

to , to take charge of my establishment. Will 

you go ? " 

" I don't know," replied Frank. " If, as I expect, 
my present employers dismiss me, I will go. If they 
do not, I have no wish to leave." 

" That is settled. They intend to dismiss you, and 
I know the reason. I honor you for it, and wish you 
to enter my establishment." 

Here again our mechanic saw the hand of God. 
His decision had again brought him into trial, and 
God had come to his aid. The new situation for 



206 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

which he had just engaged was worth much more 
than the one he was to leave. God had kept his 
promise. 

Frank removed to his new home with a character 
for decision which henceforth placed him above 
temptation of that nature. " It will be of no use to 
ask him," was the reply of his employer, when de- 
sired to have Frank and his men do some repairs to 
a broken engine upon the Sabbath. No ! Frank's 
heart was fixed. He would " not be moved away" 
by any inducements, from " the hope of the gospel" 

Christian reader ! what is your opinion of Frank 
Edwards ? Is not his decision admirable ? Do you 
not wish to be like him ? True, his decision was 
tested by temptations of only one class, but the 
Spirit which repelled those was obviously ready to 
resist any others. It was not the Sabbath, merely, 
whose claims he regarded ; it was the God of the 
Sabbath. Frank's mind was settled not to displease 
God in any thing. So fixed was this purpose, that he 
preferred starvation before its violation. He was 
brought to that test. His faithfulness was stronger 



DECISION OF CHARACTER. 207 

than his natural appetites, his passions, his affections. 
He could not only suffer himself, but he could see 
the wife of his bosom and his children afflicted with 
poverty and threatened with hunger, through his obe- 
dience to God. By displeasing God, he could feed 
them and bring plenty to his home. But no ! dear as 
are the lives of his wife and children, God's smile is 
dearer. He will please God, though they and he die 
together. 

And this is decision of character. This is what I 
want the young disciple to attain. I want him to be 
like the rock on an ocean island. The clouds 
gather above its head, the winds thunder around its 
heights, the wild waves, in their proudest strength, 
rise like liquid mountains, and breaking at its base, 
roll up and bury it in water and foam. Trembling, 
it endures the mighty shock, hidden and seemingly 
lost until, confounded, the vanquished waters fall back, 
and the rock reveals its whitened brow, and looks 
down upon its foe with the calm dignity of conscious 
security. 

How beautiful are such Christians ! With what 



208 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

moral majesty they walk the earth ! What delicious 
fragrance their actions breathe forth upon the world. 
Money will not purchase their integrity : passion will 
not entice them into the secret paths of wickedness ; 
sloth cannot subdue them or bind them in chains of 
adamant. They are Christ's freemen — the true 
nobility of the Christian church — the faithful imita- 
tors of their adorable Master — the living demon- 
strations of gospel truth. 

This character may be yours, young convert! 
Whatever the fickleness of the past ; however you may 
have been tossed about hitherto ; by the grace of God 
you may become stable and firm henceforth, for the 
angel of the covenant has said, and he cannot go 
back from his word, " My grace is sufficient fok 
thee." Whoever thou art, however feeble of heart, 
his grace is sufficient for thee ! 

Decide, then, in your heart, that in all the future 
acts of your life, the will of God shall be your rule 
of action. Resolve to give that will its most rigid 
construction, and to walk by it, in the most rigid man- 
ner. Look not so much at the present, immediate 



DECISION OF CHARACTER. 209 

results of your obedience, as to its ultimate issue. 
Confer not with flesh and blood. Walk by faith. 
Decide in view of the revelations of faith. Be es- 
pecially careful of receding from your purpose in a 
small matter. Small matters are the fatal stumbling- 
blocks of the soul. As a broken buckle once proved 
the ruin of a stout warrior, by permitting his saddle 
to slip, so have things equally trivial often destroyed 
souls. Be firm, then, in little things — in all things. 
Bring every feeling, every thought, every employ- 
ment, every act to this test — Will it please God ? 
Adhere firmly to this grand test. Strictly maintain 
it at any cost ! You will thus speedily gain a decided 
character. Men will repose confidence in you, they 
will submit to your influence — they will glorify God 
for your fidelity, and you will have your reward in 
the abundance of your heart consolations and in the 
brilliancy of your future crown of glory. 
18 



CHAPTER XIII. 

HOLINESS. 
^P|§3|LESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART, FOR 

^In| they shall see God ! Yes, it must be so ! 
The pure in heart must be blessed indeed. They are 
free from all sinful feeling and desire. " Sin hath 
no more dominion " over them. They are cleansed 
"from all jilthiness of the flesh and spirit." They 
have laid aside " every weight and the sin which did 
so easily beset them." They " love God with all 
the heart." They are " crucified with Christ" 
Christ lives in them, and they " live by faith in the 
Son of God" ! they are blessed beyond concep- 
tion, whose hearts are purified by that precious blood, 

210 



HOLINESS. 211 

which " cleanseih from all sin" They constantly 
sing with the pious Newton, who sung : 

" By faith in Christ I walk with God, 
With Heaven, my journey's end, in view. 
Supported by his staff and rod, 
My road is safe and pleasant too. 

1 Though snares and dangers throng my path, 
And earth and hell my course withstand, 
I triumph over all by faith, 
Guarded by his Almighty hand." 

In the border towns of New Hampshire, in the 
vicinity of the yet unsubdued forest, I have often 
seen the camp of the half civilized Indian family. 
The red man I have seen there was no longer the 
wild savage whose home was the silent glen, whose 
food was the stricken deer or the forest-grown maize, 
and whose most loved employment was war. No ! 
the Indian of to-day is a man of peace ; he labors in 
the production of the variously shaped work-basket ; 
he eats the food of civilized man, and, in part, 
adopts the garments of his white neighbors. Yet he 
still clings to the woods and to the wigwam. Reject- 



212 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

ing a part of the habits of his ancestors, he has 
ceased to be a savage ; refusing to enter the conve- 
nient house and to adopt the comforts and improve- 
ments of the white man, he is not wholly civilized. 
He occupies a middle ground between the barbarism 
of his Indian ancestors and the civilization of his 
Saxon conquerors. 

And is it not a fact that thousands in the Christian 
church, like the modern Indian, occupy a middle 
ground between their former sinful state and that 
state of inward purity which is their privilege as 
children of God ? They have cast off outward sin ; 
they have even gained a partial victory over their 
inbred corruption, but they are not "pure in heart" 
" Filthiness of flesh and spirit " still cleaves to them ; 
carnal feelings and tempers still struggle mightily in 
their souls for the victory ; their religious charac- 
ters are essentially defective, in many very important 
features. Their experience is beautifully, yet pain- 
fully described in the following verses of the sa- 
cred poet. 



HOLINESS. 213 

** Thou hidden love of God, whose height, 
Whose depth unfathomed, no man knows j 
I see from far thy beauteous light, 
Inly I sigh for thy repose j 
My heart is pained, nor can it be 
At rest till it finds rest in thee. 

Thy secret voice invites me still, 
The sweetness of thy yoke to prove 5 
And fain I would ; but though my will 
Seems fixt, yet wide my passions rove j 
Yet hindrances strew all the way j 
I aim at thee, yet from thee stay." 

The Christian who lives in this state is not what 
he should be. The gospel was not given to awaken 
desires it cannot satisfy. The blessed Jesus said, 
"I will give you rest." But the fluctuating, 
changeful, mournful experience of most professing 
believers is any thing but rest — it is often labor, 
pain and sorrow. 

Why is this ? Must it be so ? Is it unavoidable ? 
These queries the young convert cannot avoid put- 
ting to his own heart, and in reference to his own ex- 
perience. It is well to do so. But it is important to 
solve them correctly. 



214 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

The truth is, that there is not the least necessity 
for a sad and lamentable experience in any child of 
God. Divine commands, divine promises, scrip- 
ture examples and numerous living witnesses incon- 
testably prove it to be God's will that the disciple 
should be holy in heart and in life. 

The enjoyment of holiness is sweet indeed. None 
but the " pure in heart " know what the word " rest " 
implies. Here is a statement from one who had 
spent several years in suffering the unrest of an 
unsanctified believer, and, who having subsequently 
attained and enjoyed the blessing of holiness for 
four years, gave this testimony. " The prevailing 
state of my mind has been in no wise that of high 
emotions. On the contrary, there has been great 
calmness^ placidity and quiet of mind ; a freedom 
from excitement, or agitation of feeling. I have of- 
ten thought that peace was the peculiar, the special 
state of mind belonging to Christ's disciples, as he 
said, ; Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto 
you.'" 

How desirable a state is this ! " Great calmness, 



HOLINESS. 215 

placidity and quiet of mind, 1 ' during a period of four 
years ! What soul on earth, beside the sanctified 
one, can produce such an experience ? What can 
the most aspiring heart desire more ? 

Why do not all Christians gain this blessed state — 
this sublime serenity of mind ? And why especial- 
ly do not the sincere and humble, who really desire 
it, enter into this sweet state ? 

The reason why multitudes of church members 
are not holy is because they do not seek to be so. 
They are worldly, vain or idle. They are loungers 
and slumberers in the vineyard of Jesus Christ. It 
will be a miracle if, when the bridegroom appears, 
they are not numbered with the sleeping virgins. 

But it is not so with all. Many desire a higher 
and better experience. They read, pray, resolve, 
weep, struggle, and after all, make little progress in 
the way of holiness. Why is this ? 

One chief reason is, that such seekers too often labor 
to mend their religious characters instead of aiming 
at the purification of their hearts ; or, to express 
myself differently, they aim at the purification of 



216 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

their hearts by improving their characters, by striving 
to subdue particular sins. Let me give you an ex- 
ample, to illustrate my meaning. 

I was once very intimate with a young man whom 
I will name Joseph. Shortly after his conversion, 
he was introduced to a poor sister, whose employ- 
ment was washing and ironing. But though she was 
poor in circumstances, she was rich in faith ; she was a 
living example of the power of Jesus Christ to cleanse 
the heart from all sin ; and she soon drew the atten- 
tion of my friend Joseph to the subject of Christian 
holiness. He was sincere and earnest, and therefore 
received her counsels with profit. After one or 
two interviews, he seriously engaged in an effort to 
obtain complete sanctification. 

His attention was first directed to a discovery of 
the principal defects in his character. He saw himself 
strongly inclined to pride, to impetuosity of temper, 
to envy and to covetousness. Over these sinful in- 
clinations he mourned and prayed. He resolved to 
overcome them. 

" I will not yield to pride," he said to himself. 



HOLINESS. 217 

That same evening he was requested to pray in a 
social meeting. He had great liberty of expression. 
" How eloquently I prayed to night. The brethren 
will think me to be very pious and talented," was 
his inward thought as he closed his prayer- He 
yielded to the suggestion and indulged in very self- 
complacent feelings. " Is not this pride ? " his con- 
science at length whispered. Poor Joseph, his spirits 
sunk, and he went home dejected. 

Confessing his sin, he renewed his resolutions. 
The next day some one said to him,— 

" Joseph, do you know how you offended Mr. C 

last night ? " 

" No ! How ? " 

" Why, in your prayer ? " 

" How did my prayer offend him ? " 

" He says you displayed a vain, pompous spirit, 
and that it will not be safe to put you forward too 
fast." 

Joseph colored and replied, " I think the old man 

had better mind his own business. He don't like 

young men, and I don't mean to care any thing about 
19 



218 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

him." These last words were spoken with an evi- 
dently excited temper. Poor Joseph ! Then he 
again recollected himself, he felt subdued and con- 
quered. " Alas ! alas ! I never shall be holy," was 
his inward exclamation. 

These struggles with inward evils and characteris- 
tic sins, were continued and renewed. Indeed they 
formed the history of his experience for several 
months. He made but small progress in his endeav- 
ors to check the growth of sinful feeling, and, at 
last, sunk down to a level with the ordinary profes- 
sor, making scarcely an effort after a pure heart. 

Why did Joseph fail of success ? He was sin- 
cere, earnest and willing to be purified. Yet it is 
not wonderful that he failed. It would have been 
wonderful if he had succeeded. His efforts were 
misdirected. The following incidents will serve to 
explain his mistake. 

Near to a village in Europe there was once a 
large morass. Its stagnant waters created a fatal ma- 
laria. The atmosphere, burdened with the exhala- 
tions of the morass, poisoned the people. It became 



HOLINESS. 219 

a serious question whether they should forsake their 
homes or drain the morass. After due deliberation 
they resolved to do the latter. 

Drains were cut to conduct the waters away, but the 
labors of the day were neutralized during the night. 
What was drawn off by the drain, was replenished 
from some secret source ; and, after prodigious la- 
bors, the morass was still undrained — the malaria 
remained. 

At last they conceived the very obvious idea that 
some spring supplied the morass. If that could be 
discovered and its waters drawn off by a fitting chan- 
nel, then the morass would become dry. Happy 
thought ! The spring was found, the channel form- 
ed and the unhealthy morass was converted into fer- 
tile fields and lovely gardens. 

Now does the reader understand the cause of 
Joseph's failure ? He was like these villagers. 
They aimed at destroying an effect while the cause 
remained. So did Joseph. He tried tc remove 
pride, temper and the like, from his character, while 
the carnal heart, from which these evils sprung, re- 



220 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

mained. He did not succeed. Of course he could 
not. He could not help doing and feeling as he did, 
while his heart was unsanctified. Like the spring, it 
kept sending out its corrupt streams, and he could 
not prevent their overflow upon his life. Had he 
taken his heart to the fountain opened in Jerusalem and 
submitted it to the sanctifying influence of the blood 
of Christ, his defects of character would have disap- 
peared with the corruption of his heart. 

Here, then, is an important truth to be written on 
the young convert's mind. All defects of character 
originate in the heart. All your pride, your vanity, 
your evil tempers, your covetousness, and your vari- 
ous other failings, proceed from the undestroyed car- 
nality of the heart, as the Savior said — " Out of the 
heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, for- 
nications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies ." 

The influence of the heart on the character is 
strikingly shown in the following fact. " Some 
winters ago two friends were travelling in Lapland. 
To protect themselves against the extreme rigor of 
the season, they had enveloped themselves in thick 



HOLINESS. 221 

foldings of garments, and were well wrapped in fur. 
Notwithstanding all these precautions the cold was 
almost insufferable. In the course of their journey 
through one of the glens of that country, they perceiv- 
ed the body of a man nearly covered with snow. When 
they reached him, he appeared frost-bitten and dead. 
What was to be done. They were both enfeebled 
by the frost, breathing an atmosphere of snow and 
shivering with the cold. One of the travellers pro- 
posed, that as they could do the frost-bitten man no 
good, they should leave him and make the best of 
their way to the distant inn. The other felt the 
spark of compassionate benevolence kindling in his 
breast, and began the work of restoring animation, 
while his companion shivered and shuddered on to 
the distant village. His efforts were at first very 
feeble, but as he persevered he became warm. His 
benevolent labor was crowned with success, anima- 
tion was restored, and a man was saved from 
death. 

Here may be seen two men with hearts of an op- 
posite kind. One selfish, the other benevolent. The 



222 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

selfish heart was willing the poor traveller should die 
in the snow ; the benevolent heart was not willing he 
should so perish. Hence the difference in their 
conduct. The one passed on, the other stopped 
and saved a life. 

Holiness, therefore, is to be sought for in the 
heart. That must be made right, and the life, the 
character will, of necessity, be right also. 

But how is that purity of heart to be gained ? 
Does not the young convert wish to know ? O ! is 
he not in a flame of desire to be the possessor of a 
holy heart ? If so, I will endeavor to point out the 
royal road — the way cast up for the redeemed. 

The first thing necessary to entire sanctification is, 
a willingness to be sanctified. This implies a fixed 
decision to be entirely the Lord's — to consecrate the 
whole soul, with the body, to the service of Almighty 
God. The seeker after a full salvation, must bring 
himself, without the least reserve, and dedicate the 
offering for ever to the work and service of Jehovah. 

This consecration made, nothing more is required 
but simple faith in Jesus Christ. This faith compre- 



HOLINESS. 223 

hends an undoubting belief in the entire willingness 
of God to sanctify, according to his promise, and 
also an unshrinking confidence that he does accept 
and purify in the instant that the act of self-conse- 
cration is performed. Not, indeed, because of that 
act, but because he has promised to do so for the 
sake of Jesus Christ. The act of self-consecration 
being nothing more than placing ourselves on the 
spot where God has promised to meet us. It has no 
merit ; it does not procure the sanctifying Spirit. 
No ; it is only the proper posture of a spirit waiting 
to receive a free gift, at the hands of a divine sov- 
ereign. The blood of Jesus, and that alone, is the 
meritorious cause — the all victorious motive which 
moves our heavenly Father to put his sanctifying 
Spirit into the believer's heart. Upon that blood, 
therefore, must the convert depend, when asking for 
a holy heart. 

Behold that altar reared in the court of the Jewish 
tabernacle ! Behold, too, that trembling worshipper. 
He has sinned ; his soul is guilty ; but he has 
brought a sin-offering to the priest. As the devoted 



224 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

victim is laid upon the altar, the soul of the worship- 
per shivers with the fear of conscious guilt. " Will 
God indeed accept my offering ? Will he smile upon 
a sacrifice from so polluted a creature as I am ? " are 
the questionings of his fearful heart. But suddenly 
his countenance brightens. It is written, and he just 
now remembers the sweet truth, that " the altar sanc- 
tifies the gift." Doubt, therefore, is out of the ques- 
tion. His gift is on the altar, and according to the 
word of God it is sanctified — it is accepted. God 
is pleased, and he is forgiven. 

And thus is it, dear young believer, in the cove- 
nant of grace. Its language is, I beseech you by the 
mercies of God that ye present yourselves a living 
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God ; it offers you an 
altar, whereupon to present your offering, even the 
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. That altar has a 
sanctifying power. Whatever is really laid thereon 
to be cleansed, is, by virtue of Christ, instantly sanc- 
tified. It cannot be otherwise. The altar sanctifieth 
the gift, or, in other words, the blood of Christ, (the 
spiritual altar,) cleanseth (the offering laid upon it) 



HOLINESS. 225 

from all sin. You have, therefore, only to cast your 
consecrated soul upon the blessed Jesus, forbearing 
to doubt in your heart, and assuredly you shall, in 
that instant, be the possessor of a soul purged from 
all iniquity. Your heart shall be made clean hence- 
forth, your life and character shall be blameless be- 
fore God. 

Come then, my young reader, and devote yourself 
in this glorious and evangelical manner to the ser- 
vice of God ! Grasp your high calling's privilege. 
Be assured that you are not excluded from its enjoy- 
ments. The precious promises are not given to par- 
ticular, favored persons ; they are given by God, 
who is no respecter of persons, to the church — to all 
true believers. They are yours — freely bestowed to 
be freely enjoyed. O embrace them ! Be like 
Abraham, persuaded of their truth. Resolutely cast 
yourself upon them. How strong are the induce- 
ments to do so ! What superior enjoyment is afford- 
ed by a life of holiness, over a life of cold luke- 
warmness ! What power it bestows to do good ! 
Sanctified to God, like the humble Carvosso or the 



226 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

modest Harlan Page, you may bring many to Christ 
— unsanctified, you will be to the church like a dis- 
eased limb on a human body, and your religious 
profession will be little less than a curse to the 
world. Sanctified to God, your endurance to the 
end is far more probable than if you settle down into 
a state of religious ease. Then, how much more 
honor you will bring to your Savior ! Let him 
stamp you with his pure image and men will glorify 
him for the power of his grace, as manifested through 
you. Nor is it in this life alone you will reap the 
fruits of holiness ; in the life to come a bright- 
er crown, a higher dignity, superior enjoyment, 
greater nearness to Christ, will be your eternal re- 
ward. O then, be holy ! Thirst after a pure heart. 
Be filled with God ! The wants of the world, the 
state of the church, the voice of the Holy Trinity 
all cry aloud to your young heart — " Be holy ! be 
holy ! " May you respond to this Almighty voice, 
and cry — 

" Take my poor heart, and let it be 
For ever closed to all bat thee - t 
Seal thou my breast, and let me wear 
Thy pledge of love for ever there." 



CHAPTER XIV. 



APOSTASY. 



WERE two beggars equally squalid and 
miserable to solicit alms at our door, we 
should at first sight feel an equal amount of sympa- 
thy for each of them. But if upon inquiry, we 
should learn that one of them had been a beggar 
from his birth, and had become so accustomed to his 
dependent life as to find a melancholy pleasure in 
it ; while the other was a fugitive prince, born in a 
palace, nurtured in luxury and educated in a royal 
university, but driven to a foreign land by sad rever- 
ses of fortune and compelled by stern necessity to 
beg, our sympathies would then chiefly flow toward 

him. We might pity both, but the fallen prince 

227 



228 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

would share the largest place in our feelings and 
charities. We should intuitively perceive how the 
contrast between his present degradation and his 
former dignity would give occasion to bitter remem- 
brances, to a deep sense of shame, which, added to 
the actual privations of his lot, would make him a 
far greater sufferer than his companion. That he 
had known better and happier days, would be the 
most bitter drop in his cup of sorrow. 

For a similar reason, an apostate is more wretched 
than any other sinner. He has been an acknowl- 
edged son of the Most High ; he has been the pos- 
sessor of an inner life, of a glowing hope, of spirit- 
ual joys, which, alas ! he has thrown away for some 
worldly bauble. He has violated the most solemn 
covenants ; turned his back ungratefully upon the 
most affectionate of Saviors, and his sense of guilt 
and degradation is so deep, he is both ashamed and 
afraid to attempt a return to God. His reflections 
are of the most painful character, his mind knows 
no rest. Abandoned by God, deprived by his own 
apostasy of the confidence of his former compan- 



APOSTASY. 229 

ions, he is wretched to the last degree. Montgomery 
has drawn a graphic picture of a backslider's heart 
in the following beautiful lines. They are supposed 
to be uttered by Javan, the apostate hero of his 
poem. 

" There is no home, no peace, no hope for me, 
I hate the worldling's vanity and noise, 
I have no fellow feeling in his joys) 
The saint's serener bliss I cannot share, 
My soul, alas I hath no communion there. 
This is the portion of my cup below, 
Silent, unmingled, solitary woe j 
To bear from clime to clime the curse of Cain, 
Sin with remorse, yet find repentance vain j 
And cling, in blank despair, from breath to breath, 
To nought in life, except the fear of death." * 

Such, dear young convert, is the backslider after 
the first excitements of his apostasy are over. 
Lured from Christ by the false promises of worldly 
delight, he finds that the things which give pleasure 
to common sinners are ashes in his mouth. The 
world is changed to him ; it will not yield him the 
gratification it gave before his conversion. He can- 

* World before the Flood. Canto 3. 



230 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

not forget the exalted happiness of his forfeited rela- 
tion to God. He is filled with despair in regard to 
any future recovery of heavenly favor. His lot is 
one of unmitigated misery. He understands the 
meaning of the Holy Ghost, who has said : " Thine 
own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslid- 
ings shall reprove thee ; know therefore, and see that 
it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken 
the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, 
saith the Lord God of hosts." 

And while the apostate brings all this misery upon 
himself, his example is most disastrous in its influ- 
ence over others. It inflicts a sore wound upon the 
church ; weakens her power to do good ; and, in the 
strong language of Jay, " is a judgment on the peo- 
ple where it happens." The sight of an apostate 
hardens the hearts of the wicked, confirms them in 
the vain hope that all religion is a " cunningly devis- 
ed fable," and consequently increases the probabili- 
ties of their destruction. 

There is one aspect of a backslider's influence 



APOSTASY. 231 

peculiarly dreadful. I will present it in the form of 
an illustration. 

Let us suppose the people of a particular city to 
be visited with an ophthalmic disease. As it spreads, 
multitudes grow blind, and nearly all the people are 
more or less afflicted in their eyes. The physicians 
try their skill in vain ; every known remedy for 
such diseases fails to arrest its progress ; it is feared 
the whole community will become incurably blind. 

In the midst of all this suffering, let us imagine 
that a stranger comes from a distant city, professing 
a sufficiency of skill to eradicate the distemper. He 
opens an infirmary, inviting the populace to submit 
to his directions. But having already suffered much 
by ineffectual experiments, the people are slow to 
believe his pretensions. At last, a few persons ven- 
ture to apply, and shortly after go forth professing to 
be cured. 

Now it is apparent, if these persons gave the 
necessary evidence of their professed cure, so that 
their restored eye-sight was obvious to all, their pro- 
fessions would give an immediate popularity to the 



232 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

infirmary. Men would have faith in the stranger 
physician, and would hasten to be benefited by his 
skill. 

But what if after a short time, the persons first 
cured lapsed into blindness again ! What if the dis- 
ease wrought upon them more powerfully than at first ! 
Would not their relapse destroy men's growing faith 
in the physician ? Would they not assert, pointing 
to these cases, that his cures were only apparent and 
partial ? And would not the relapse of these first 
patients neutralize the profession of those who might 
daily come forth declaring themselves cured. Their 
declaration would not sustain the popularity of the in- 
firmary ; unbelief and doubt in the reality of these 
cures would take the place of faith and confidence, 
and the physician would be denounced as an empiric 
and a pretender. 

Two points in this illustration are important to our 
purpose. The r first is, that the permanent success 
of the infirmary depended on the well sustained 
professions of cure on the part of its patients. The 
second, that the relapse of those whose declarations 



APOSTASY. 233 

had created the faith of the community would neu- 
tralize the professions of later patients. People 
would say to each other : " Wait ! we shall soon see 
these persons as blind as ever. They are not per- 
manently cured." 

The reader cannot fail to perceive the general ap- 
plication of this illustration. The gospel with its 
adored, divine Physician is represented by the infir- 
mary and its owner. The gospel comes to man- 
kind, oifering a balm whose virtues it proclaims to 
be sufficient for the renovation of a ruined world. 
The church of our Lord Jesus profess to find it suf- 
ficient for their complete purity and blissful enjoy- 
ment. They say it is true, as taught in the gospel, 
that Christ, embraced by faith, fills the soul with lofty 
bliss, completely satisfies the heart and gives the be- 
liever a power to live without sin. 

There are startling professions. They are never 
made without some result. Such declarations from 
the church and ministry are the God-appointed instru- 
mentalities for speading the gospel. "That which 

we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye 
20 



234 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

also may have fellowship with us" is the language of 
the saintly John. He here describes his preaching 
and writing as a declaration of experience ; and the 
Saints are said to overcome by the " word of their 
testimony." Indeed, the reader will not probably 
call this truth in question, that it is God's plan to 
spread the gospel through the testimony of its 
believers. 

If, therefore, all who professed faith in the gospel, 
gave a visible demonstration of its power in their 
lives, the world would be confounded : it would be 
taken captive by the moral power of the church. 

But why is it not so ? The church has its living 
demonstrations of the truth, who constantly testify 
of its power to save. Why is that testimony com- 
paratively inoperative ? 

Ask the apostate ? Inquire of the backslidden 
multitudes who crowd the broad road to destruction ? 
These are they, who have robbed the profession 
of the church of its practical value. They once de- 
clared the power of the gospel to save, but they 
have fearfully forsaken that gospel and denied the 



APOSTASY. 235 

truth of their former declarations. The world heard 
their testimony for the gospel, it has also witnessed 
their apostasy, and unhappily, it allows that apostasy to 
neutralize the declarations of faithful Christians. 

The apostate is, therefore, a robber. He robs the 
church of one of its most precious possessions — its 
influence. O, this is a dreadful crime ! A sin most 
fearful in its results upon mankind, for it is one of 
the chief hinderances to the spread of the gospel ; it 
sends thousands to perdition, who, were not the 
moral power of the church weakend by the apostate, 
would be saved by the " word of her testimony" 

View the apostate in any light, and he appears 
hideous and abominable. He is wretched in him- 
self, injurious to all around him, offensive to God in 
the highest degree, and an object of painful astonish- 
ment to the universe. When God looks upon him and 
his companions, he cries : " Be astonished, ye 
heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid ! be ye very 
desolate, saith the Lord, for my people have commit- 
ted two evils ; they have forsaken me, the fountain of 



236 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

living waters, and hewn out to themselves cisterns — 
broken cisterns that can hold no water ! " 

Dear young Christian ! Will you ever be an 
apostate ? Can it be possible that after your cove- 
nants and professions — your enjoyments and hopes — 
you will turn traitor to Jesus Christ, and abandon 
your profession and your church ? God forbid ! 
Yet, you must not forget that the thing is possible*. 

Yes it is possible. From being an angel, Satan 
fell into hell. Adam, possessed of unsullied purity, 
fell into apostasy and was expelled from paradise. 
Demas, from being a companion of apostles, fell and 
forsook his Savior and his church. And even Paul, 
with all his zeal, his devotedness and peculiar evi- 
dences of heavenly favor, saw and feared the possi- 
bility of losing his soul ; for said he, " I keep under 
my body and bring it into subjection ; lest that by 
any means, when I have preached to others, I myself 
should be a cast away" He also grieved over some 
in the primitive churches, who in his apostolic judg- 
ment, had been soundly converted, but had unhap- 
pily fallen into apostasy : hence he besought Timo- 



APOSTASY. 237 

thy to hold "faith and a good conscience, which 
some having put away, concerning faith had made 
shipwreck" Your apostasy is therefore strictly possi- 
ble. 

But, blessed be God, though possible it is not nec- 
essary. Watchfulness, devotion, faith, will, with the 
grace of God, keep you secure from harm. No 
man or devil is " able to pluck you out of the hand's 
of your beloved Savior. He has said, " I will never 
leave thee, nor forsake thee" Trusting to his prom- 
ises, thousands have maintained their steadfastness 
and held fast unto the end. Every saint in glory is 
a pledge to you of the possibility of your endurance 
unto the end, for each of them overcome the world, 
the flesh and the devil, under circumstances and in 
conditions very similar to your own. Courage, then, 
young convert ! Believe in the possibility of your 
endurance ; yea believe, that aided by the divine 
comforter, you will come off at last " more than con- 
queror" 

Still the danger you are in, will prompt the ques- 
tion, How shall I escape the wretchedness of apos- 



238 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

tasy ? To solve this inquiry, you must observe the 
causes of apostasy and avoid them. 

It is impossible to state all the precise facts 
which lead all apostates and backsliders away from 
Christ. This much is certain. No one plunges by 
one step from the heights of Christian enjoyment in- 
to the depths of a backslider's misery. The apostasy 
begins in the heart ; its victim is always a backslider 
in heart, before he renounces his profession. The 
closet is the scene usually where the first act of the 
tragedy is performed. Languid devotions there, 
prepare the Christian for a state of unwatchfulness 
in the world. Failing to watch with his usual dili- 
gence, the Tempter insinuates his suggestions into 
his mind. Pride, envy, temper or covetousness is 
excited a little. The closet, a second time, bears 
witness to a weakening faith ; the Bible shares in 
the languor of the closet, and thus, little by little, step 
by step, the heart grows cold. Then comes some 
sinful self-indulgence. Duty is neglected. Vain 
regrets stir the soul, but the spell is successfully at 
work ; the soul declines more and more, until weak- 



APOSTASY. 239 

ened, shorn, forsaken, it stumbles into an open sin, 
and then bids a sad adieu to all religion, to the 
church, to Jesus Christ. 

To escape the apostate's fate, therefore, you must 
avoid the cause — the remote cause — the first be- 
ginnings of departure from the faith. Suspect the 
least degree of heart-coldness and drive it from you 
as your bitterest foe. Make it a point, that you will 
never rest a single moment without a conscious sense 
of the divine favor. Be immovable here. What- 
ever circumstances may be about you, decide to 
keep your eye of faith open on the Savior. If a 
cloud should intervene, pray through it. Never 
live in spiritual gloom. Wrestle, struggle, fight for 
present assurance. Therein lies your only safety. 
Do this, and you will never be an apostate. 

Still, it must be remembered that this sublime 
faith, this constantly burning flame of devotion, can 
be maintained only in connection with outward obe- 
dience. Prayer in the closet, faith and love in the 
heart, can only be kept vigorous by faithfulness in the 
more practical departments of Christian duty. 



240 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

For example, the gospel commands a disciple to 
let his " light shine hefore men" — to exert a saving 
influence in the world. Hence, when a believer 
refrains from all direct efforts to save sinners — 
and his life is spent as if it were not his business to 
do good — how can he enjoy the devotions of the 
closet ? He cannot have a conscience void of of- 
fence toward God, and consequently cannot enjoy in- 
timate communion with him. To avoid apostasy, you 
must be a fellow-laborer with Christ. To be an idler 
in his vineyard, with an intelligent, scriptural hope 
of enduring to the end, is an impossibility. Inaction 
will invariably destroy confidence in God. And so 
will any other neglect of practical duty. There is a 
divinely established relation between the experimen- 
tal and practical duties of Christianity — a relation so 
intimate and necessary, that without an inward ex- 
perience of faith, love, and devotion, there can be no 
acceptable performance of those outward duties, 
comprehended in the expressive idea of doing good. 
Neither can that inward experience live, unless sus- 
tained by outward efforts in the cause. Hence it is, 



APOSTASY. 241 

that there are so many backsliders in the church, 
and so many apostates in the world. Their Chris- 
tianity was not active, and so of necessity, it died 
away. Religious feeling, like a lamp, which not 
only requires oil to feed it, but a proper atmosphere 
in which to burn, must have both grace to support 
it and a healthy sphere of action in which to expend 
its energy. As a lamp lowered into the impure air 
of a deep cave, expires, so religious feeling dies 
away when shut up entirely within the narrow limits 
of self. It is in its nature expansive ; it will strug- 
gle to spread itself abroad, to assimilate whatever of 
human nature is within its reach, to its own likeness. 
Let this tendency of its nature be resisted ; it will 
grow sickly, pine away and die. 

In view of these remote causes of backsliding, 
you must, my young friend, see the importance of 
keeping every approach to your heart well guarded. 
Watchfulness at every point but one, is insufficient. 
The slumber of one sentinel may prove the destruc- 
tion of the army ; the omission to guard one path to 

the fortress, may be the overthrow of the city. The 
21 



242 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

Romans once nearly lost their capitol and their na- 
tionality, by such a trivial neglect. They were 
closely besieged by those terrible men, the Gauls. 
They shut themselves up in their capitol, and placed 
guards every night to prevent a surprise. But there 
was one point they did not guard. The capitol stood 
upon a rock. On one side this rock was deemed in- 
accessible — they did not, therefore, place a guard 
there. The wily Gauls discovered a path by which 
it might be scaled, and in the dark night, with silent 
stealth, they climbed those crags. On they sped, un- 
seen. Deep were the slumbers of the Romans — 
vain the watchfulness of the sentinel. On, on the 
Gaul urged his way. He reaches the summit. Very 
soon the unguarded Romans will perish ! But no ! 
God has a work for that iron-hearted people to per- 
form, and choosing some birds — the sacred geese 
kept in their temple — as his instruments, they made 
unusual cackling. The Roman wonders — searches 
on all sides, and discerns the foe in season to rouse 
his companions in arms, and hurl the adventurous 
Gauls down the steeps they had so courageously 



APOSTASY. 243 

climbed. Rome was saved, but it was a very nar- 
row escape from extermination. One unguarded 
spot placed them in this most imminent peril. 

So, beloved youth, one duty neglected, one sinful 
tendency unwatched, or even one act of self-denial 
declined, may terminate in apostasy and death. 

Before taking my leave of the reader, I will guard 
him from one more evil, which has driven many from 
the path of life into the shocking gulf of apostasy 
and death. I will do it through an illustration. 

Robert was once a living Christian, to-day he is 
a wretched wanderer from Christ. He became so, 
like all others, by degrees ; but there was a deciding 
fact in his history, which gave fixity and determina- 
tion to his present character. 

Robert had gradually declined in devotional feel- 
ing, when one day he committed a wilful and a delib- 
erate sin. The manner of it was thus. He owed a 
debt, which it was not quite convenient for him to 
pay at that time. His creditor offered him his bill, 
asking, " Can you pay it to-day, Mr. ? " 

" No, Sir, I cannot do it to-day ! " 



244 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

" I wish you could. I very much want the 
money." 

" I have not money enough on hand to pay it to- 
day. I will certainly pay it soon ! " 

Reader ! Robert had money enough in his pocket 
to pay that bill ; but he wished to use it for another 
purpose. To rid himself of an importunate creditor, 
he told a lie ! 

Poor Robert ! It is impossible to describe his men- 
tal agony, when he reflected upon what he had done. 
It was his first wilful sin since his acceptance in 
Christ. Shame, horror, wretchedness, filled his soul. 
What ought he to have done ? 

He ought to have instantly confessed his sin to 
God. His sin was great, but the promise of mercy 
was sufficient to cover it. " I write unto you that 
ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate 
with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." This 
precious promise, heinous as was his offence, was 
ample to procure his pardon and restoration to peace, 
if he had only gone with it in prayer to Almighty 
God! 



APOSTASY. 245 

But what did Robert do ? Alas ! he did as too 
many have done under similar circumstances. He 
refrained from prayer entirely, on a plea of shame, 
and with a secret resolution to return to God after 
some time had elapsed. Fatal purpose ! While he de- 
layed, sin made powerful inroads upon his heart. 
Offence followed offence, until guilty, despairing and 
unhappy, he forsook the church and openly turned 
down into the broad road to destruction. 

Let the reader beware of Robert's error. Let him 
first guard himself from falling into wilful sin. But, 
if that unhappy fall should overtake him, he must 
resolutely stop. By all means, he must go directly 
to God, even while his conscience is reeking with the 
pollution of his sin. Oh ! he must go ; ashamed, 
confounded, guilty, he must go and lie at Mercy's 
feet, pleading the promise of eternal love ; nor must 
he rise from that prostration of spirit, until the me- 
diation of Jesus triumphs, and he is restored again. 
But it is a fearful risk to run, and the young convert 
must set his face like a flint, and fix a resolution of 



246 THE PATH OF LIFE. 

adamant, that he will never, on any account, plunge 
wilfully into sin. 

Christian reader, we must now separate. I have 
led you to the more dangerous and difficult spots in 
your way to heaven. I have shown you both pleas- 
ant and unpleasant things in Christian experience. I 
trust my counsels may not prove useless ; that you 
will be helped and benefited ; and that when we have 
both overcome and travelled the length of the path 
of life on earth, we may rejoice and wear a crown 
of life together, in the world of glory. 



